Kingdom Hearts: Guardian of Worlds
by keybearer007
Summary: What was just a simple video game soon became a reality beyond belief. Now, Xander must team up with Sora and the gang to learn of mysterious past of the Keyblade War, his connections to the war, and to stop a new enemy before a second war brews. R
1. Just a Game

"Stupid game," I heard him mumble, as he slammed down the controller in his chair. I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's wrong?" I ask, just messing with him. "Can't beat it?"

My cousin looked over at me. "Shut up."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe Kingdom Hearts isn't your kind of video game."

He just sighed. "You play it so effortlessly," he complained. "Me? I just suck."

"Yeah, you do."

He was glaring at me now. "Shut the-"

"Boys!" interrupted my dad. "It's 3 AM! Go to bed!"

"We are!" I shouted back.

I could hear him going back to his room. "You better…" he mumbled, "…because I'm not going to hear it from your mother in the morning."

I sighed. "Come on," I said, "let's hit the hay."

"Just one more try, okay?" he protested.

I decided not to fight him. The one thing about my cousin Zane was when his mind was set on something, there was no changing it. "Yeah, go ahead."

He smiled. "Dude, you rock!"

I grinned. "I know."

Zane just shook his head. "You and your ego…" And, with that, he was playing KHII again.

He'd been at it for a while (since 5 this afternoon), trying to beat certain levels. He wasn't bad at the game, but he just didn't like having to fight and level up. He wanted to play straight through the story line, without playing the side quests, and that just doesn't work. When playing an RPG, you have to take time and level up your characters, which is what some side quests are for. Otherwise, the game's hard as hell.

I sat on my bed and watched the TV screen. He was playing as Sora, running around Hallow Bastion after the MCP had taken control of the town's defense system. For some reason, he just couldn't get to the main computer to visit Tron's world. I had played this mission several times, and each time I had been able to make it through with ease. But, I was also at a higher level than he was; this is what was screwing him over. His Sora wasn't anywhere near the level my Sora was when I played this level, making it much more difficult.

I could tell he was getting frustrated. He was almost there when, for the fifth time, he died.

"SON OF A-"

I cut him off by covering his mouth with my hand. "You idiot!" I whispered. "My parents are asleep and they've got to go to work tomorrow! They don't have a month off like we do! Keep it down!"

He mumbled something that I couldn't understand.

"What did you say?" my voice still at a whisper. That's when realizing my hand was still covering his mouth. "Oh, sorry!"

"I said this game is starting to piss me off," he whispered back. He handed me the controller. "Here! You beat it for me!"

I took the controller and sighed. "You need anger management counseling."

He held up his hand. "It's camouflaged, pick one."

I just shook my head. I hit continue on the screen and started playing. I took out all the enemies I could to gain experience points within each area. His Sora's level was way too low for this mission. I was still confused on how in the world he was able to get this far with Sora's level so low. But, I knew better than to ask or poke fun. He was in a pissy mood and I wasn't about to make it any worse.

I continued until I reached Ansem's room, where I saved and continued onward. "I couldn't even get to Ansem's office…" Zane said. I laughed and he glared. "Shut up."

I shrugged. "Whatever…" I said and continued playing. As I entered the computer room, there was a power serge and, for about a second, the screen went black. "Well, this sucks." I looked over at him, his mouth wide open.

"No kidding!" he said, in a loud whisper, looking back at me. "At least you saved the game in Ansem's office."

"Totally! Otherwise, I'd have to start back from the beginning," I said back to him. I looked back at the screen and, to my surprise, the game hadn't reset. "Wow! That's never happened before…"

Both of our jaws dropped. On the screen before us Sora was still in the computer room which teleports him, Donald, and Goofy to the computer world. However, the screen was slightly disoriented. Sora had a crown above his head and was wielding his ultimate Keyblade. Donald and Goofy were also wielding their most powerful weapons as well. What was weirder, there was a strange symbol (a heart with a crown in it with the middle point of the crown and the inside point of the heart connected) just floating in midair in the middle of the room.

"Um… What is that?" Zane asked.

I was dumbfounded. "Should I have Sora examine it?" I looked back at Zane. He shrugged. "Remind me never to ask you anything ever again." He snorted.

"Well, let's see what happens," I whispered. I had Sora move closer to the strange symbol. When the reaction command appeared for Sora to examine it, I hit the triangle button.

A sudden flash crossed over the screen. Soon, all kinds of pictures and words began to appear; pictures that I'd never seen before. A black haired girl, who looked like Kairi, with Roxas and Axel eating ice cream; the words Xion, Room of Sleep, Room of Awakening, and Organization XIII continued to flash up as more and more pictures of this girl kept coming up.

Then, the pictures changed to three characters, two guys and one girl, standing in a line in a funky looking room. One of the guys looked just like Roxas. The other guy had brown hair and the girl had blue hair. The pictures changed rapidly, but I was able to make them out. One of the characters was at Cinderella's Castle, one was talking to Maleficent, and the other was battling Heartless using a Keyblade that was floating.

"Dude," I said, excitedly, "isn't this awesome!?"

"What are you talking about?!" Zane asked. "I can't see a damn thing!"

I tried to look over at him, but my eyes were glued to the TV. I wanted to see every image. Not a minute later, my head began to hurt beyond imagination. I put my hands on my head; the pain was excruciating. But, no matter what I did, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. I felt like I was coming to the point of insanity, where I was about to attack the TV so I could look away when I finally was able to close my eyes.

For the longest time, my mind wondered. I felt like I was in some kind of trance. When I finally opened my eyes again, Zane was knelt over me.

"Xander, you okay?!" he asked, his tone very worried.

I sat up and shook my head clear. "Yeah, I think so," I replied. "What happened?"

"Some weird crap, that's for sure," he said, looking at the TV. The screen was completely black, but the game was still on. "One minute there was this really annoying bright light, the next it goes away and you're lying on the ground. You've been out for about twenty, thirty minutes tops."

I just looked at him, then back at the screen. For some strange reason, besides the fact it was 4:30 in the morning, I was extremely tired. Usually, this early in the morning doesn't bother me. I'm a partial insomniac, so I've gotten use to being up late and not sleeping. But, for the first time in a few days, I was exhausted.

"Let's…just go to bed," I said. Zane looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "It's 4:30 AM. And, besides, it has been a long day. We'll try to figure this out later, okay?"

Reluctantly, he nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

I stood up and, looking at the TV screen one more time, I turned my PS2 off. There were so many questions I had. And I was determined to get answers. Little did I know, those answers would come sooner than I thought.


	2. Best Remembered, Best Forgotten

A/N: Sorry it took so long!! This chapter almost kicked my butt... But, I started kicking back and won!! Just want to warn you, there are a few spoliers for those who haven't played 358/2 Days. Possibly Birth By Sleep spoliers also. I'm hoping to have chapter 3 up before Tuesday, but no promises. Hope you all enjoy it!!

* * *

I woke later that day, to the sounds of Zane flushing the toilet.

"What a wonderful sound to wake up to," I said aloud, to no one in particular. I looked over at my alarm clock. It was blinking twelve. "The power outage last night must have reset it."

"Sure did," Zane said, walking into my room from the bathroom. "It's actually a little after one."

I nodded. "How long have you been up?"

"About an hour," he responded. Then, he smiled. "Guess what?"

I just glared at him. _If it is a prank he's about to pull, I'll kick his ass_, I said to myself.

"Don't look at me like that, I didn't do anything," he said, throwing his hands up to help prove his innocence.

"What?"

He grinned. "We weren't the only place to have a power outage," he informed. I raised an eyebrow. "The whole world had a huge blackout for about 5 minutes this morning."

My reaction must have been funny, cause he started to laugh. "The… whole… world…?" I questioned, trying to wrap my mind around the idea of everyone not having power at the same time. I could feel my mouth wide open. Good thing there weren't any flies around.

Zane continued to laugh for another minute before he could say anything. "Yeah, the whole world," he assured.

I got out of bed and stretched. "What caused it?" I asked.

Zane shrugged. "Don't know. And neither do the government officials," he responded. "It's all over CNN and Headline News, as well as the other major news stations."

I walked to one of my drawers to get some clothes and then I walked passed him, headed to the bathroom. "Wonder if it had anything to do with what I saw last night…?" I mumbled.

Zane watched me in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

I shook my head. "I'll tell you in a little bit. First, I'm gonna take a shower and use the restroom." Zane looked confused. "Not in that order." He just laughed.

I shut the door to the bathroom and turned on the shower water for it to warm up and then used the toilet. Once I was done, I hopped in the shower. My mind kept racing as I was washing my hair. _Roxas and Xion… Terra, Aqua, Ven…_ Those names kept coming to my mind. As well as a single sentence: "We must return to free them from their torment."

"What does it all mean?" I mumbled to myself. Images kept flashing through my mind, as well. One of Roxas and Axel, with a girl who's face looked like Kairi's, but she had black hair. The other image was of three warriors in armor in what looked like to be a graveyard of Keyblades. The armor they were wearing was damaged, and their helmets gone, revealing a girl with blue hair, a boy that looked like Roxas, and another boy with brown hair. The final image was of King Mickey looking through Jiminy's journal, where the phrase "we must return to free them from their torment" was.

I sighed as I turned the water off and began to dry off. Once I had put clothes on, I went back to my room where Zane was sitting in one of my saucer chairs watching TV. To be more exact, the news.

"Anything new?" I asked. He shook his head. "Not surprised…"

"Well," he piped up, "it is supposed to be sunny and about seventy degrees today."

I looked out the window and scoffed. Huge dark clouds were in the sky, with no sign that the sun even existed. The trees were blowing very hard in the wind and you could easily tell that it was really cold outside. "Weatherman's dead wrong…again…"

Zane turned around. "Wow…" he trailed off. I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He glanced at my confused face and then continued to stare out the window. "I swear, fifteen minutes ago it was really nice outside."

I looked back out the window. "Seriously?" I asked, not really believing him. Zane was known to our entire family as one of the greatest pranksters. He inherited all of his "mad" pranking skills from his dad, my uncle.

"Dude, I'm dead serious," he said, standing up to look out the window. "What the hell happened…?"

I stood next to him, looking at the sky. "How weird," I said, turning back around to face my room when something caught my eye. "Zane, what's that?"

Zane looked to where I was pointing. "Xander," he said, annoyed, "those are clouds."

"Do you not see it?" I asked again; his puzzled look answered my question. "I swear there is something in those clouds. Something…yellow…"

"Yellow…?" he asked. From the sound of his voice, I could tell what he was thinking. And, sure enough, he said it. "Dude, you've lost it."

"I'm dead serious, Zane!" I semi-shouted. He jumped back a little bit. "Sorry, but I swear there is something in the clouds. And, I think it's moving."

Zane looked back at the clouds and then shrugged. "Sorry, I don't see anything." He turned around. "You gonna keep staring at the clouds?"

However, I wasn't paying him any attention. My eyes continued to gaze at the clouds, at the yellow spot that was moving. It was then, when the one yellow dot became two, that I realized what it was: a pair of eyes. Something was in those clouds. And, whatever it was, it was looking for something.

And that something…was me.

As soon as we made eye contact, time seemed to freeze; all sound disappeared; my heart was pounding like crazy; my gut instinct was to close the blinds, but for some reason my body wouldn't respond; and a small voice came from nowhere.

_Forward_.

Suddenly, my left hand began to reach for the window. Some outside force was pushing and pulling me forward. In my mind, I kept thinking that there is no way I could go forward. The window and wall blocked the way. However, no matter how hard I tried, my left arm kept moving. And, when I touched the glass, the strangest sensation passed through me. It felt like I was being pulled through a tiny hole. The sensation only lasted about a second, but it felt like a lifetime.

Before I knew it, I was outside my room on the back porch. My eyes still locked on to the yellow eyes in the sky.

_Forward_.

Slowly, I began walking forward. My body no longer registered anything I told it to do. Whatever that voice was, whether it be a man, woman, or even human, I couldn't tell. And whatever that voice said to do, my body followed. As my body continued to walk forward and my eyes gaze at the yellow ones in the cloud, it dawned on me where I was: on the back porch, five feet away from the in-ground, eight foot deep pool.

My heart pounded harder, faster. _I'm going to drown!_ I thought instantly. I tried to scream for help, but I couldn't even move my lips. Whatever had possession of me controlled everything except my thoughts. As I continued to walk forward, I began to fear what was going to happen. _Damn it! Body, for once listen to me and stop walking!_ But, no matter how I pleaded, nothing worked. I was only a few steps away from falling in the pool.

I tried to brace myself as much as possible, though it wasn't too much avail._ DAMN IT! This sure as hell isn't the way I wanted to kick the bucket!_ My mind continued to race. _One more step, and I'll be eight feet under; one more step and it'd all be over: the final chapter in my life. Damn… I'm starting to sound like my sister with all the drama crap.._.

As the final step came about, something strange happened. I wasn't falling. Somehow, someway, my left foot was touching something solid. At first, I was above and beyond confused. _I'm not gonna ask,_ I finally said to myself. _Knowing my luck, I'll ask and then I'll fall to my death._ I was relieved, and yet frightened. I had a feeling that, at any minute, any second, whatever was under me would give way and I'd fall.

_Stop._

My body stopped moving as I was hovering about four feet above my eight foot deep pool while my eyes were still locked with the yellow eyes in the cloud. It felt as if whatever was up there wasn't just looking at me, but it was staring straight into my core, into my soul. Its eyes got bigger, as if it saw something it liked. The cloud in which the eyes was in, lowered to a level area. And my gaze lowered with it.

Its eyes shimmered and I could hear an evil laugh from within it. It meant to cause me harm, to cause pain. It wanted to see me suffer. And, suffer I did.

Suddenly, my head began to pulse, followed by a small headache. As the pulsing continued, the bigger my headaches got. It wasn't long until they were at migraine level. My head was throbbing so badly and yet I couldn't do anything about it. I wanted to wrap my arms around my head and be able to close my eyes. This pain was terrible, awful, excruciating. I felt as if I was going to die. The pain began to get worse and worse. I could feel tears welding up and, slowly, fall down my cheek. I wanted to scream, to yell. I didn't care how I got it; I just wanted some form of relief.

"P-p-p…lea…se… s-s-s…t…o-o-op…" I somehow muttered. I could hear the creature laughing. It was enjoying my torment, as if it was feeding off it. Tears were rolling down my face; my eyes felt strained; my head was not only throbbing from the headache, but was also swimming as I began to feel dizzy; and it was then I knew that if something didn't happen soon, I'd die.

I could feel a destructive rage building inside of me. And, apparently, so could this creature. It wanted to see what I was capable of doing; how far beyond my limits it could push me. It was either testing or toying with me. And this fueled my rage even more.

"I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD! YOU WILL DIE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. How I got control of my voice again, I have no idea. Maybe it was the rage, maybe it was the anger. Either way didn't matter to me.

"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, wanting so badly to be rid of the torment I was in. I was through. I wanted it to end. I wanted to die.

That's when I got my wish. My eyes became free, my body under my command. My vision started to blur and whatever was holding me up gave way, and I fell forward; head first into the pool. As my head touched the water, all the pain went away. My eyes closed and peace came over my body. I could feel myself sinking down and for some reason I had no intention to stop myself.

_It's peaceful, _were my only thoughts.

Slowly, my body sunk down towards the bottom of the pool and that's when it came to realization: my life was over. I was going to die. But, I had no regrets. I welcomed the thought of death. _It was a good run, everyone_. I thought to myself. _Goodbye._

_Your life is far from over_.

It was that voice from before.

_And yet, I'm sinking to my death,_ I said to myself, wondering if this voice could hear my thoughts.

_Open your eyes._

Slowly, I opened my eyes. And, as I did, my feet touch ground. I was standing upright; standing on a strange platform. "Where…?" A flash stopped me from finishing my sentence. I looked towards the ground and saw two shadows swirling within it.

Emerging from the shadows and rising above me were two dragons: a black dragon and a white dragon. As they emerged from the platform, they revealed a beautiful stain glass-like platform. The design was something to behold: the yin-yang symbol lay beneath my feat, but with a black sun crest and white moon crest instead of the black and white dots that were usually there. The sun was outlined in gold, while the white was outlined in silver. And I was standing in the middle of it.

But, my attention wasn't on the platform; it was on the dragons. To my left was the black dragon and to my right was the white. As they hovered around the platform, just outside the boundaries, I could tell that the black dragon was larger, but the white dragon had a larger wingspan. Slowly they descended and landed right outside of the platform, as if there was something blocking them from entering. I took about three steps closer to get a better look. The dragon's both lowered their heads so they were at eye-level with me. I could feel the black dragon's and white dragon's eyes staring down into me with their gold and silver eyes, respectively. And, that's when I saw it.

In the middle of the black dragon's forehead was a white moon outlined in silver. In the middle of the white dragon's forehead was a black sun outlined in gold. _Yin and Yang,_ I thought to myself, gazing at one dragon, then the other.

"Magnificent, aren't they?" came a voice from behind me.

I almost jumped; definitely wasn't expecting that. I turned halfway around. Two figures, dressed in Organization XIII-like coat, were walking towards me. As they got closer, I noticed that one of the figure's coats was white. On each hood, which covered their eyes, there were the yin and yang symbols, respectively; almost like it represented the two dragons.

"Bet you never thought you'd see a dragon, huh? Let alone two, right?" The figure in the white coat asked. "Are they not exactly what you thought they'd look like?"

"Who are you?" I asked bluntly. I wasn't in the mood for games. Whoever they were, they wanted to toy with me. At least, that was the vibe I was getting from them.

"A straight-forward guy," The black coat said. "I like that."

"Only way to be," I commented.

They both laughed. "And a smartass!" the black coat laughed. "I think I'm gonna like this kid!" The white coat nodded.

I cocked my head to the side, and raised an eyebrow as I finished turning around to fully face them.

"Turning your back on a dragon could be hazardous to your health," the white coat stated. He was smiling. And, that smile looked familiar to me. Though it sounded crazy at the time, I'd seen that smile.

"They won't attack me," I said firmly.

"Oh?" the black coat piped up. "And how do you know that?"

"I don't," I honestly answered without any hesitation, which surprised me. "It's just a feeling that I've got."

"A feeling?" the white coat asked. "Then maybe he does have what it takes."

"Maybe," the black coat got quiet. "What do you think?" he asked, looking up.

At first, I thought he was crazy when I noticed what he was looking at. _Dragon's can't talk, _I said to myself as I was looking at the black dragon.

"Actually," the white coat piped up, "they can."

I turned to face him. "How?" I was more interested in knowing how dragons could talk than knowing how he read my mind.

"To put it simple," he said, "telekinesis."

"Telekin—"A sudden rumpling stopped me. The platform was shaking, as if an earthquake was underway.

"It seems time is running out," the black coat guy said.

They both looked at me and, simultaneously, asked "Which path will you take?"

"Path?" Sudden, the platform began to glow and four paths appeared: north, south, east, and west.

"Which one?" they asked in unison.

"Where do they lead?" I asked.

"Do you not know?" they asked. That's when it made sense. South would take me home; East would be the path of light; West the path of darkness; and North the unsure path.

As I was trying to make my decision, I noticed that the platform was cracking. _Not good!_ I panicked. I looked towards the South path. _I could go home and pretend this never happened._

The East path; _I would fight on the side of light._

The West path; _I'd fight on the side of darkness._

The North path; _I'd be on an undetermined path._

The decision should have been easy, right? Well…

"Darkness isn't necessarily evil," the black coat remarked.

"Light isn't necessarily good," the white coat stated.

When they said that, the decision became a lot harder.

"Then," I said, "I'll go forward." I ran north and, as my foot touched the first stair, the yin-yang platform shattered. I continued to run. I could feel each stair crumbling as I lifted each foot to the next stair.

It wasn't long until I reached another platform. The stairs behind me had all shattered. I was stranded on another beautiful stain glass-like platform. This time, however, the design was of the two dragons, flying around the merged sun and moon crests. As I walked towards the center, an altar appeared above the crests. Stuck in the altar were two stone Keyblades.

"Two?" I asked myself.

"You did choose the path in-between," the black coat guy said.

I turned around to face him and the white coat guy also; behind them stood the two dragons. This time, however, they were sitting on the platform. What was even stranger, it looked as if neither of them had moved. "Just who are you two?" I asked, a little impatiently.

The white coat guy took a deep breath and sighed. "We are memories best forgotten…"

"…and memories best remembered," finished the black coated guy.

"The hell is that suppose to mean?" I blurted out before I had time to think.

They must have sensed this, or read my mind one, cause they didn't say anything as it hit me. "You're memories…?" They nodded.

I had heard that saying before, but it had been a long time. And from who, I couldn't remember.

"You two…are the memories of people who have done something so tragic that it is best to be forgotten," I began, "but, at the same time, that tragic event is also best remembered so it never happens again."

"You hit the nail on the head," the white coat said.

"So, who are you two, really?" I asked, curious as to whose memories these were.

"I'm afraid we cannot tell you that information as of yet," the black coat replied, in a very serious manner. "This is about as far as we can go."

"What do you-?" I stopped myself. They had vanished. Or, so I thought. In the blink of an eye, they were walking past me. I turned around immediately to see them both standing on either side of the altar, their backs towards me.

Both of them reached up towards the Keyblades. They each wrapped one hand around one the Keyblades. The black coat was on the left, the white was on the right. From the handles, the blades began to change color as if they were coming alive, being freed from their stone prison.

"Within you is a power that hasn't been seen since our time," the white coat began.

"_They_ will do whatever it takes to stop you," the black coat continued.

"…so you must defend yourself at all cost," they both finished, simultaneously.

They both pushed their hoods up, revealing the back of their heads and their hair color. The black hooded guy had blond hair, while the white hooded guy had black hair.

_Looks like they really are opposites in every way,_ I thought. I started to walk forward, but then realized my feet wouldn't move. _What the…?_

"We leave it to you," I heard them say. I looked up and saw that they were both looking over their shoulders at me. I could tell they were both smiling; however I couldn't exactly make their faces out. The guy in the white coat was surrounded by a bright light, while the guy in the black coat was surrounded in a cloud of darkness. And then, suddenly, they were gone. This time, they really had vanished.

"Me…?" I tried walking forward again, and this time I was successful. I walked towards the altar. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The two stone Keyblades had obtained color. The one on the right was all white, the one on the left was all black, and neither blade had a keychain.

"So, I wield two?" I asked myself. I stepped up onto the altar and began reaching for them both. As my hands wrapped around each blade, I could feel a huge rush of power go through my body. I pulled them out of the altar and was astonished. This power was nothing like I'd ever felt before; I couldn't describe it. "What power…"

I just stood in awe as I looked back and forth from both Keyblades for a good five minutes. I couldn't believe the power I was holding in my hands. It was, without a doubt, astounding.

Once I was able to comprehend the power, I looked up and saw the altar had been replaced with a set of stairs. I turned to face the dragons; however I saw that they had vanished. _Guess I'm suppose to head up._

I began walking the stairs. Halfway up, the platform I was just on shattered. That's when I started to run. As I reached the top, the last of the stairs broke into a million pieces. I sat down on the ground to catch my breath. "This better be a onetime deal," I said as my breathing slowed back to normal. I stood up and noticed my surroundings. It didn't take me long to realize what I was standing on.

Underneath my feet was another stain glass-like platform. This one, however, looked like one of those stain glass windows that doesn't light up unless you plug it up or turn the lights on. I started walking, figuring if I walked towards the middle something would happen. Unfortunately, I was right…

As I reached the middle, the two dragons from before appeared, both standing outside of the platform, on opposite sides, on invisible plains. They were looking up, into the sky. I looked up with then and saw what they were looking at. It was the same yellow pair of eyes, this time, inside a dark grey cloud from earlier. The cloud landed on the platform about thirty feet from me. I could feel hatred boiling within me. I was going to strike it down for all the pain it caused me earlier. I raised the Keyblades in some kind of stance. It felt like the Keyblades were guiding me, preparing me for an upcoming battle with this strange monster in the cloud.

I could hear footsteps from a distance and chains rattling. From the sounds of it, whatever was in the cloud was wearing boots and, apparently, chains. Slowly, the creature emerged from the cloud.

I called it quite well. As the being came out of the cloud, the first think I saw were its black boots. As It walked out, I got a better look: it wore grey leather pants, with gray pants covers that were similar to Cloud from FFVII:AC except it had one for both legs; a black long sleeved shirt white designs the likes of which I'd never seen before; a gray sleeveless hoodie; black gloves; a black belt and white belt that crisscrossed a black and white belt that looped its pants; a strange chain-like belt that went around his left shoulder, and a half-white half-black wolf mask.

It was the strangest thing, as our eyes met and locked, I began to feel afraid: as if this thing was the very definition of fear. Or, better yet, as if I was looking into the things I feared most. I could my feel grip on the Keyblades loosen. It took all I had in me to keep holding them and to stand up. Whatever this creature was, it had me terrified.

Slowly, unconsciously, I began taking steps back. I could hear the creature snicker. It was then I caught myself. I stopped after adding another six feet between us. _Get it together…_ I said to myself. I could feel myself shaking. I had never felt fear like this before. No matter how many times I said to myself that I wasn't afraid, nothing would work. As I, unconsciously, began to step back again something stopped me: a small voice from within.

I recognized the voice, which was actually two, automatically and felt myself zoning into my inner self. There stood two of the most important people in my life: my cousin and best friend, Zane, and my sunshine, the only woman I had ever loved so much that I'd give my life for, Alexia. She had her arms crossed, glaring at me. Zane was shaking his head.

"_Come on, dude,"_ Zane said, impatiently, _"what are you afraid of? I've never seen you like this!"_

"_This isn't like you babe,"_ Alexia walked towards me. _"I know for a fact that you can kick this guy's ass!"_

I looked down. _"I don't know…"_

Alexia grabbed my right hand and laced her right hand with mine. _"They fit perfectly, don't they?"_ She asked, smiling.

Zane grabbed my left hand and shook it, then placed his fingers around my thumb, doing out special handshake. _"We've still got it, huh?"_

I looked from Alexia to Zane and back.

"_I'll be with you, always,"_ Alexis smiled.

"_I've got your back, no matter what,"_ Zane grinned.

I opened my eyes, returning to the place of battle. "I'm not afraid of you," I said. The creature didn't budge, as if it didn't believe me. I gripped my Keyblades, which had begun to glow, tightly. This was one battle I was determined to win.

The creature took a battle stance. It knew it was now or never. It summoned a sword, similar to Tidus' Brotherhood (except it was grey), and prepared to strike. It rushed forward, the blade sticking out. It was going to try to jab me. However, I was too quick. I deflected it with the black blade and jabbed back with the white blade.

However, the creature was fast and side-stepped it, then jumped back about ten feet. I could tell it was smiling. "You're really not afraid," the thing cracked, his voice sounding very familiar. A little too familiar. He noticed I had picked up, but hadn't figured it out. "Somethin' the matter?"

"…you're using my voice…" I trailed off. I could feel the fear trying to take over again. It ran at me again, finding an opening. I noticed and jumped back, knowing full well I was not going to be able to block his attack at the speed he was going. However, my reaction was slow, and he was able to strike me diagonally across my chest. The wound wasn't deep, but it did slice my shirt and pierce the skin. I could feel the warm blood slowly flowing out. I knelt down, using the black blade for support.

"You were a fool, thinking you could defeat me," he laughed, mockingly.

I stood up, but kept my head down. _Damn it… I'm no where as fast as he is…_ I looked in my hands, noticing the Keyblades were still glowing, but now they were also pulsing. I couldn't help but get the feeling that they wanted to tell me something. I closed my eyes and opened my mind. _Show me…_

A revelation was sparked as I looked up.

"Chaos..." I whispered and the black dragon from before appeared to my left.

"Cosmos…" and the white dragon appeared to my right.

The power of the two dragons began to flow through me. The Keyblades power was released. Their true forms revealed. Both Keyblades had the same design: the guard was a dragon's head/open mouth and the hilt was a wing, bent downwards towards the guard. In color, both were polar opposites. The Keyblade in my right hand was white, outlined in silver; the one in my left was black and outlined in gold. The right Keyblade had a sun keychain and the left hand a moon keychain.

The creature took a step back. That's when I rushed towards him, my blades crossed over. I hit him with a double horizontal slash, which caught him by surprised. I did a 360 spin, and was able to do a double upward diagonal slash. The creature howled in pain and jumped back a good ten feet.

I pointed both blades at him. "Twin Dragons" I said. The two blades became one, half black and half white down the middle, still retaining shape. The keychains had merged.

The creature growled. "Damn you…" he muttered. He raced towards me, his facial expression showing his hatred of me and how much he wanted me dead. He jumped and slashed downwards. I sidestepped him, doing a 360 and striking him in the back. He howled in even more pain as he fell to his knees and dropped his blade. I kicked it as far as I could; I wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be able to grab it.

He raised his head and turned to face me. When he did, I placed the tip of the Keyblade on his forehead. His eyes widened. "Afraid?" I asked.

He growled, "Never…"

"Who are you?" I asked. "Or, better yet, what are you?"

"…you don't know?" he asked.

I had an idea, but I wanted this creature to prove my theory. "You're the embodiment of my fear."

The creature laughed. "So you did figure it out." I didn't say anything. He stood up, slowly, and the tip of my Keyblade following his forehead. He smiled, then reached for his mask and took it off.

My eyes widened as I came face to face with my polar opposite. The creature was me, but with blond hair with reverse highlights. One eye was green, the other blue; it had been the mask that made them yellow. He also had more of a tan than I did. "Surprised?" I remained. "Well, you shouldn't be. I am your fear, after all; the total opposite of you."

"What now?" I asked. I wouldn't, for the life of me, put my Keyblade down.

My opposite walked towards the middle and then smiled. "You win." He then punched the stain-like glass and it began to shine. It was me, my eyes closed, in the same position as Sora had been in his stain-like glass platform. Sun and moon crests outlined the platform. Above my head were two pictures: one of Alexia, on the right, and Zane, on the left. The two Keyblades were opposite me, sticking out of a stone altar crossing one another.

I was stunned. _What is this?_ I had an idea, but I kept it to myself. The two dragons were now flying in the air, swirling around. They looked like the yin-yang sign. It was a magnificent event to behold.

"This is far from over, Xander," my polar opposite said. "You and I will cross paths again."

"I'll await the challenge…"

"Alex," he stated.

"Alex," I repeated.

With that, Alex disappeared into the platform. A cold chill passed over, but didn't stay long. I looked up at the dragons as I walked towards the middle. The Twin Dragons divided into two and became the two Keyblades once again.

"Well, now what?" I asked. The Keyblades pulsed. "Wait, what? No, you can't!"

The two dragons began to heavily breathe in. As they released their breath a black and white flame erupted from Chaos and Cosmos, respectively.

"Damn it! Are you trying to barbeque me?!" I shouted. As the flames hit me and the platform, I did not feel heat. Rather me melting, the platform was. Everything was vanishing into ashes. I started to drift in nothingness, but soon I began to feel myself being pulled. Wherever I was going, I was heading there fast.

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A/N: Again, hoping to have chapter 3 up before Tuesday. Also, I'm gonna try to have drawings of Xander's Keybaldes posted onto photobucket. I'll post a link on the next chapter and on my profile page once I do. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!! R&R!!!


	3. Master and Wisdom

**A/N: Chapter 3 is now up!! (insert celebration party) There are some semi-major spoilers for those that don't know anything about Birth By Sleep. Special thanks to Yue Twili for reviewing!! I've tried to explain as much as possible (you'll understand once you read). Any questions, comments, or clear-ups, please PM or Review!! :) And now, on to chapter 3!!! :)**

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Whatever was pulling me suddenly stopped. However, I was still moving through the strange vacuum of space. It was nice, so I closed my eyes for just a split second.

"Well, this isn't so bad," I said, a little too soon. The next thing I knew, I was face first on a floor.

"Damn…that hurt…" I groaned. I looked up to see two figures before me: a girl and a guy. They were transparent. "You know, a little warning would have been nice."

"_Sorry,"_ came a female voice. It sounded so much like Alexia.

"_When you closed your eyes, you also closed your mind to us,"_ came a male voice that sounded like Zane. He sounded a little irritated.

"_Give him a break Chaos," _the girl said. _"I'd offer you a hand, but…"_

"Its fine, Cosmos," I said after standing up. I looked back and forth between the two transparent figures. It was amazing. To my right was a girl who looks so much like Alexia: she had dark color hair which was somewhere between brown and black and she was the same height also. The one major difference was that she had silver eyes, where as Alexia has green eyes. She wore white pants, white high-heel boots, a white long sleeve shirt with a black vest buttoned over it, and a black sun necklace outlined in gold. "So, where are we?"

"_You don't know?"_ the guy, to my right, asked. I looked at him and, if I hadn't known better, would have thought it was Zane. Unlike the girl who looked like Alexia, there were two major differences: one was the guy's hair color which was so blond it was almost white, while Zane's is red; the other was his eyes which were gold, Zane's are blue. He wore black boots, black pants, a black short sleeve shirt with a short white jacket over it (similar to Leon's shirt and jacket combination), and a white moon necklace outlined in silver.

I looked around the room. It was a strange room indeed. The room had white walls with strange symbols, which looked like the upside down Nobody's symbol, all over. Chains connected the symbols to a throne, though I could only see the backside of it, in the middle of the room where it looked like some kind of energy was coming out of the throne and traveling through the chains, which is the only way the chains were visible, to the symbols. I had seen this before, but it was also different somehow.

"Chaos, Cosmos: who else is in this room?" I asked. I could sense a presence from within the room coming from the throne. They both looked down towards the ground. I could tell something was bothering them. I took a deep breath, sighed, and started walking towards the throne. Neither of them attempted to stop me. I walked around the throne and as I reached the front I said the first thing that came to mind: "Roxas?"

"_Try Ventus,"_ Cosmos spoke softly.

I turned to see both of them standing behind me. "So, this is Ven?"

Cosmos seemed shocked. Chaos's eyes got wide. _"How did you know his nickname?!"_ they both asked, together.

I looked back and didn't say anything for a few minutes as I tried to focus my thoughts. "It was early this morning, when Zane and I were playing a videogame. There was this flash, and I had all kinds of weird images and names flash through my mind. Ven was one of them. He was wearing armor and fighting against someone. There were two others: a girl with blue hair and a guy with brown; Aqua and Terra, if I'm not mistaken."

Chaos spoke up, _"What else did you see?!"_ I could tell he'd be the impatient type; a total opposite from Zane.

I told them the rest, about a girl named Xion as well as the line in Jiminy's Journal entry. They were both speechless. "So, can we help Ven?"

Cosmos sighed, _"Not at the moment, no. There is still much for you to learn before Ven can be freed."_

"_And we need to meet up with _them_,"_ Chaos said.

I looked at Chaos and raised an eyebrow. "_Them_?" He waved his hand, signaling for me not to worry about it. I still wanted to know, but I let it go. There were other questions I wanted to ask first. I took one last look at Ven. I wanted to know what happened. And I was determined to find out.

I walked around the throne and headed for the door. _"No more questions?"_ Cosmos asked. She and Chaos were walking with me, side by side by side with me in the middle.

"Oh, I've got a ton of questions," I answered. "However, this room is kinda freaking me out. And, also, I'd like a change of clothes." I looked at my wardrobe. My jeans were dirty and ripped, I didn't have any shoes on, and I had a hole and a blood stain on my shirt where I had been cut.

"_Second door on the left down the hallway,"_ Chaos said as I opened the door.

Walking down the hallway gave me a strange sense of déjà vu. I knew I'd seen this place before, I just didn't know where. As I entered the door the lights came on, reveling some kind of armory. There were clothes and shoes everywhere. I looked around and saw posters of outfits that looked like they went well together. One particular caught my eye.

"Its Alex's outfit," I commented. No one said anything. I decided to let it slip. I started walking down the aisles of clothes. There were so many to choose from.

"I have a question for you two," I said, looking through different shirts. I had been debating on how to ask and this is what I got. "What is your official title?"

Chaos seemed confused, but Cosmos caught on. _"We have no official title. To put it simply, we are the original wielders and owners of the two Keyblades you now have whose heart and soul were sealed within them."_

"_It was our wills that shaped the Keyblades you now hold," _Chaos added, now catching on.

"You two shaped these Keyblades?" I questioned. I put down the shirt I was looking at and summoned the two Keyblades. "And there names are your names?"

"_Our names, Chaos and Cosmos, are nicknames we were given," _Cosmos explained. _"When we became True Keyblade Masters, we were allowed to forge our own Keyblades. We decided to give them our nicknames."_

"So, what are your true names?" I asked, dismissing the Keyblades.

There was a slight tension all of a sudden. I had hit a nerve. Chaos finally piped up, _"We don't remember."_

I wanted to ask, but decided to drop it. "So, what was with the dragon forms?"

"_They are our original forms,"_ Chaos stated. I dropped the pair of pants I was looking at and turned to look at them. _"We are of the Draconian race, dragons that have the ability to turn into humans. Or vice versa. Take it as you will."_

"So why take the forms of my girlfriend and best friend? What about your human forms?" I inquired.

"_It goes back to not knowing our names,"_ Cosmos sadly answered. I was going to change the subject, but she began speaking before I could. _"You see, when we died, our souls were sealed within our Keyblades. And our hearts formed the keychains. It was during the process of heart/soul separation that we forgot our names. It is a side effect of merging with our Keyblades. If you search our memories, you will only find memories of us when we were called by our nicknames."_

"_A True Keyblade Master is usually given a nickname which then usually becomes the name of their Keyblade, or they can just flat out name it. If you were to search the memories of other True Keyblade Masters, the same could be said for those who gave their Keyblade their nickname,"_ Chaos remarked. _"Since we are psychically linked to you, we used the memories of the people you think and care most about, aka your girlfriend and best friend. Now hurry up and find a damn pair of pants."_ I nodded and then turned back to the pants, selected a pair I liked, and then went somewhere private to change.

"_Take your time Xander. Chaos is just an ass,"_ Cosmos proclaimed. I could hear Chaos muttering under his breath. _"Also, just to answer a future question, True Keyblades Masters, or TKMs, forge their own Keyblades after becoming a True Master through a process that I'll let Chaos explain."_ She looked at Chaos who sighed.

"_And, one more thing," _she interrupted Chaos. _"Most TKMs do not have keychains on their Keyblades."_

"Why not?" I asked, coming out of the changing room and now looking around at other stuff: shoes, belts, and other accessories.

"_It goes back to the process of forging one's own Keyblade. When a person is chosen to wield a Keyblade, they are given the original and most basic Keyblade: the Kingdom Key. If one can master the power of this Keyblade, then he or she is able to rise to the next level which is just a step above. At this level, one can attach other keychains to transform the Keyblade into different shapes and gain different abilities,"_ Chaos explained. _"At the Master level, one has found a version of the Keyblade, other than the Kingdom Key, in which they have become most comfortable with and have fully mastered all of its abilities and possibly accessed its memories, the memories of its forger and original wielder. One can also duel-wield Keyblades or use others Keyblades from wielders as a Keyblade Master._

"_And then, there is a True Keyblade Master. If one becomes a TKM, then he or she removes the keychain from the Kingdom Key and shapes the Keyblade to his or her will. Once shaped, a TKM's Keyblade requires no keychain because it is linked to their heart. Towards the end of their life, a TKM will seal his or her heart and mend it to their Keyblade, thus creating a keychain. This leaves the memories of the original wielder, excluding their true name, and also sets a limitation on their Keyblade."_

"Limitations?" I questioned. I was looking at belts, and had just found one.

"_Keychains set limits on Keyblades,"_ Cosmos answered, _"so that wielders after the TKM do not become over powered once they start wielding the Keyblade. As they start to master its power, the keychain will begin to loosen its hold. However, no one can wield a Keyblade the same way as a TKM can, unless the Keyblade itself deems it fit. And, one last thing, the chain links that connect the keychain to the Keyblade holds the memories of the wielders who used the Keyblade after the TKM. A Master or a TKM can access those memories, if so desired."_

I looked over at them, fascinated. "So, what makes you two different?" They both gave me a blank look. "What? Oh, sorry! I have a bad habit of bluntly asking questions."

Chaos snickered._ "You figured it out, huh? We are a special case. We are twin brother and sister and wielders of darkness and light respectively. Also, because we are of the Draconian race, when we die our souls are sealed within special orbs and stored away for future use."_

"_However," Cosmos continued, "we are, as far as I'm aware, the only ones of the Draconian race to ever be able to use the Keyblade. When we died, we were not in our world, so the closest thing to seal our souls was our Keyblades. Our Keyblades and the orbs are so similar it made perfect sense. Plus, we are the first two to die outside our world. And so, our souls were sealed into the blade and our hearts forged into the keychains, which brings us back to forgetting our true names."_

I finished getting together and began walking towards them. "So, what about the two keys that I held during my…"

"_Awakening?"_ they both finished for me.

"Yeah, that," I answered.

"_They were heart-based blades: rare Keyblades that are forged from the heart."_ Chaos stated. _"We wanted to see if you'd listen to them, to us, and open up your heart. Once you did, we revealed their true form."_

"I see…" I said, trailing off. I was trying to put all the information I had learned together, without getting a headache. I walked back to the center of the room. "Where to next?"

"_We need to find… Have you seen yourself in the mirror?"_ Cosmos asked. I shook my head. She pointed towards one and motioned me to look at myself.

"_Nice threads,"_ Chaos said. The first real compliment I'd gotten from him all day.

"Thanks," I replied. I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't help but smile. I had black boots, similar to my zip-up Brake light Harley's; dark blue-grey jeans, a black belt with a silver and gold dragon belt buckle , a white long sleeve undershirt, with a grey short jacket over it, a silver band on my left ring finger, and a gold band on my right ring finger. On the back of the jacket were two dragon wings, one black outlined in gold and one white outlined in silver. I slid my hands through my brown hair, pulling it to the front. My grey eyes were gleaming. I combed down my soul patch and goatee. "Not too shabby, if I do say so myself."

Cosmos laughed, _"You've got the look of a Balance Keeper, that's for sure."_

I looked over at her and Chaos. "Is that my official title: Balance Keeper?"

"_Call it as you will, but we do need to be leaving,"_ Chaos interrupted. _"There is a very important person, well actually two, which you need to meet."_

"_You are such a party pooper Chaos…"_ Cosmos sighed. Chaos brushed it off as he headed towards the door. _"Ready Xander?"_ I nodded and back into the hallway we headed.

I took one last look at the door that lead to the room where Ven was sleeping, only to notice that it wasn't there anymore. "What happened to the door?"

"_It's a failsafe,"_ Chaos said. _"The door became invisible and can only be opened using a Keyblade. Come on, we have somewhere we need to be."_

"Okay…" I trailed off. Something was telling me that wasn't the case, but I just let it slide. There were other thinks I needed to worry about. Like, where in the world we were.

As we made our way through the hallway, we stopped at a large door. That's when I realized where we were. "Castle Oblivion…" I muttered. "We're in Castle Oblivion!" I pushed the door open and when I did we were in the main entrance.

"_Castle Oblivion?"_ Cosmos asked. _"So that the name of this place."_

"You two didn't know?"

"_We once knew this place, but by another name,"_ Chaos stated. _"I wonder if _she_ was the one who changed it…"_

I opened my mouth, about to ask, but decided not to. I figured I would eventually find out. Besides, there was some information that these two didn't seem to want to give out. They were hiding something for sure, I just didn't know what.

We walked to the entrance. I pulled the doors open and we stepped outside. It was a strange sight to behold. We were standing on a giant floating rock, with the castle behind us, and a rock pathway before us. I walked a little farther out, followed by Cosmos and Chaos. The sky was nothing but swirling dark clouds. It looked like there hadn't been sunlight here in a good long while. I turned around to face the castle. It was one hell of a sight. I hadn't expected it to be so huge, but sure enough it was.

As I examined the castle, something caught my eye.

I walked around to what I best could figure out was the west side of the castle. There, in the wall was a tiny black dot, no bigger than a quarter. I don't know how it caught it my eye, but somehow it did. I put my hand over it, wondering why I had been attracted to it when the dot grew larger.

"A dark corridor," I blankly stated.

"_Yep,"_ Chaos mocked. I looked over at him, annoyed. _"What? You're the one pointing out the obvious."_

"Cosmos?"

"_I'm on it," _she said. Before Chaos could ask, she elbowed him in the stomach. _"You can be such an ass…"_ Chaos grumbled and then stood back up, rubbing his stomach.

"Even worlds apart, older sibs totally understand one another," I smiled. Cosmos nodded. "Now, where does this lead?"

Cosmos shook her head. _"It's a corridor of darkness, out of my jurisdiction."_

"_And into mine,"_ Chaos said. He held up his hand over the corridor. _"This will take us to _them_."_

Cosmos looked confused. _"Who opened it?"_

"Does it matter?" I asked. "If it will take us to our destination, let's go." I looked over my shoulder. They both seemed hesitant. "What?"

"_Normally, I'd go along with this, but something seems off…"_ Chaos said. _"Why is it that a portal just happens to appear before us that will take us to our destination?"_

Cosmos sighed, _"Well, I'd prefer we take the long way, but time is of the essence…"_

I looked back towards the front of Castle Oblivion. "Short cut it is," I said, walking through the portal before Chaos or Cosmos could say anything.

It was a brief passage and it was also a strange feeling going through it. Kinda like that feeling from a roller coaster as you reach the climax of the ride, but then it ends all too soon. The next thing I knew, I found myself standing on a dark and gloomy beach. The sound of the ocean gave the place a more calm-like appeal than the looks of it.

Roughly 30 feet from me was a figure wearing an Organization coat, sitting on a rock. About five feet closer to me from said figure sat a girl with blue hair. She looked over at me, tears had been rolling down her cheek. She stood up as I took a few steps closer.

"Our honored guest has arrived," the figure said in a male voice.

The girl turned around to look at the guy, then back at me. Her face lit up. "You're _him_?!"

I stood there a little dumbfounded. "I guess…?" She walked closer and as she did I could see her face better. "Aqua?!"

She stopped dead in her tracks, like she had just been hit in the stomach. "H-How do you know my name?!"

"Well, you see…"

"You had a vision, didn't you?" the guy in the coat asked. He stood up and stood next to Aqua.

"Yeah, kinda," I replied. "I saw you with two guys named Terra and Ventus."

Her eyes got big. The man in the coat stood straighter. "As I thought," he said. He went back to his rock and sat down. "Please, join us."

I walked over towards them and stood face to face with Aqua. She was examining me, trying to see if I really was _him_, whoever _him_ is. Once she seemed satisfied, she smiled, "You seem trustworthy. My name, as you guessed, is Aqua. I am a Keyblade master. And you are?"

"Xander," I answered. "It's an honor to meet you."

She smiled and nodded. "So, how did you end up here?"

I sighed. "It's a long story." She insisted and so I told her my tale. I told her about the video game, the strange creature in the cloud, my Awakening, being teleported to Castle Oblivion, seeing Ven (at which her eyes got big, but a huge relief crossed her face when she realized he was fine), and finally using the Corridor of Darkness to appear here.

"It seems you've had quite the trip, young Balance Keeper," the man said.

I nodded. "Yeah, it has been kinda crazy. What about you two?"

The man pushed back his hood. "You tell me."

"Y-y-you're Ansem the Wise!" I said, bewildered. He nodded. "But, I thought you were killed when that device of yours exploded."

"It seems fate had other plans for me," he said, monotone. "I was transported here, where I've been wondering ever since. But, it has had its advantages. I've had time to think and to read." He reached inside his coat and pulled out a very old looking book. "It has taken me quite some time, but I've been able to translate most of this book."

"What is it?" I looked over at Aqua, who smiled. "You know, don't you?"

"We were discussing it before you showed up," she replied. "Wise Ansem?"

"This book is the only known recordings of the Keyblade War," he began. "It depicts on how it was started, who all took part in it, the outcome, and, most interestingly of all, a Balance Keeper."

"Balance Keeper…" I repeated. _That's what Cosmos called me!_ I started looking around.

"Something the matter?" Aqua asked.

I shook my head. "It's nothing, never mind. Continue, please." _Chaos, Cosmos, where are you two?_

_We're still here,_ Cosmos replied. _They just can't see us._

I gave a telekinetic nod as Ansem continued, "The Balance Keeper is one who wields both light and darkness with ease. This book depicts the balance keeper as one who can wield two Keyblades, one of light and one of darkness, and has the ability to merge the two as one." I thought back to my Awakening, when I had merged Chaos and Cosmos together. But, for the life of me, I couldn't remember how I did it or what I said to merge them. "The Balance Keeper can also mend, or destroy, the heart of worlds and seal off a world for eternity, with the powers to save and/or destroy.

"The Balance Keeper can also restore hearts to those who are either missing one or a being who's heart is torn. However, there is more to Balance Keeper than just this. According to the book, it was the Balance Keeper who ended the Keyblade War using the powers of Kingdom Hearts. As to how the Balance Keeper did this, I have yet to translate that far."

"…You think I'm the balance keeper?" I asked.

"You catch on quick, my friend," Ansem responded. "I believe so. I can sense something about your being that tells me this."

I looked at Aqua. "What do you think?"

"Summon your Keyblade," she stated.

"Ummm…" I knew what she was expecting. "…Okay…" I summoned Chaos and Cosmos to my hands.

Both Aqua and Ansem's eyes widened. Their mouths almost dropped open as they look on at my Keyblades.

"This is undeniable proof!" Ansem exclaimed. "You wield two: one of light and one of darkness! You are the Balance Keeper!"

Aqua was smiling. "We can save Terra and Ven!"

I looked down at my blades, wondering if I really was this so-called Balance Keeper. _Cosmos, Chaos, am I really…?_

There was silence for a few seconds. Finally, after much anticipation, they responded. _Only time will tell._

I looked up at Aqua, then over to Ansem. "I'll do what I—"

A sudden gust of wind, so powerful it almost knocked me backwards, rushed through. It wasn't long before a being wearing a dark suit, similar to the suit Riku wore in his Dark Mode. Whoever it was wore a helmet, so their face was hidden. In their right hand was a Keyblade, the likes to which I had never seen.

Aqua stepped in front of me, summoning her Keyblade. "You: I thought Ven destroyed you!"

The being laughed, "Please, that idiot couldn't even save himself. If I'm not mistaken, he is in a comatose."

Aqua gritted her teeth. "Damn you…"

I stepped forward, making sure I would be in a position to stop Aqua if needed. "Vanitas, right?" He lowered his head. "You're the embodiment of Ven's darkness, right?"

"You must be the Balance Keeper that old fart over there kept rambling on about," he snared. "Yes, I'm Vanitas. And, yes, I'm the embodiment of Ven's darkness. What's your point?"

"You shattered Ven's heart and stole pieces of it so he would never reawaken," I said. I had no idea where this knowledge was coming from. "And you plan on taking over Ven's being in order to recreate the X-Blade."

"Well, well, well… Aren't we all-knowing?" Vanitas mocked. "You are correct. That _was_ my plan."

"Was?" Aqua and I asked.

He laughed. "It seems that blue-headed bitch sealed Ven's room so that only a keybearer of light can enter. So, I'll just have to find another way." I could tell something was off, but I didn't know what. He raised his left hand and a corridor appeared behind him. "They share a heart, so it shouldn't be hard to possess him."

"They share a heart?" I asked. I looked at Aqua, whose expression was that of fear and terror.

"No…" she whispered. "You can't!"

He walked backwards, towards the portal. "Watch me," were his final words as he walked through corridor.

I dismissed my Keyblades and turned to face Aqua. "What did he mean by 'they share a heart'?"

Ansem stood up. "Is he talking about…?"

Aqua gulped "Sora. He's talking about Sora!" she cried. "This is bad! We have to find Sora before Vanitas does!"

"Aqua, what does Sora and Ven have to do with one another?"

She looked at me, then out towards the ocean. "Everything," She began. "Sora is the key to all. His heart unites all of ours; which is why we have to find him!"

I sighed. _That wasn't really the answer I was looking for._ "So, we need to get to the Realm of Light, right?" She nodded. "Okay, I've got an idea. Just bare with me for a few minutes, okay?" She nodded again.

I summoned Cosmos to my hand and closed my eyes. _Cosmos, do you have full access to your memories?_

…_No, only some of them. My deepest memories are sealed away in a place I cannot access,_ she replied.

_Is it possible they are sealed within the keychain?_ She sent me a telekinetic shrug. _Well, we'll just have to find out._ I began focusing only on the Cosmos Keyblade.

_I need to know if I…_ My mind and they keychain locked and I began to see memories of Cosmos's past. I focused on only one thought, hoping that would help me find what I needed. It felt like forever, but soon I found what I was looking for.

My eyes shot open. "I can!" I exclaimed. I ran to the shore and pointed Cosmos in the direction of the coast.

"What are you doing?" Aqua asked.

I smiled. "Watch," I insisted. "Key of the Holy Might, take us to the Realm of Light!" The Keyblade shot out a beam of light and a corridor was opened.

Both Aqua and Ansem were speechless. "Well?" I asked. "Shall we depart this gloomy place?"

"Yeah… Lets… Was that really the incantation to open a Corridor of Light?" Aqua asked.

I shook my head. "Nope, that was just for fun."

"You're crazy."

"I know," I remarked. "Now, shall we?" She nodded and made her way towards the corridor. I looked at Ansem. "Well?" Aqua turned around to look as well.

"There is still more to this book I must decode," he said. "Besides, for all the horrible things I've done, I don't deserve to return to the light; at least, not now."

Aqua was about to protest, but I intervened. "He's made his decision. We can't change his mind."

She nodded in acceptance. "Be careful, Wise Ansem. Who knows what else is in this world." He nodded.

"Now then, shall we?" I asked. Aqua nodded. We jumped through the portal; next stop, somewhere in the Realm of Light.

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**A/N: Hope everyone ejoyed!!! Don't expect an update for at least two weeks. (Sorry!!) I've got a pretty busy week this and next week. (Again, sorry!!) Please R&R!!!! :)**


	4. Retrieve the Sky

A/N: Been working on this for quite some time. Sorry it is so late! Now that school is out, I'm hoping to be able to update more often. I'm going to start back on my Balto fanfic really soon. Now, on to the story!

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Our departure was graceful, but our landing…not so much. And by our, I meant mine.

Aqua landed perfectly; grace and elegance of a Keyblade master. I on the other hand…got my fall broken by wooden crates.

"…Damn, that hurt…" I moaned. I stood up and looked around as Aqua walked over towards me. The dust was starting to clear from where I had landed.

"So, where are we?" she asked, looking around. "This place seems kinda familiar."

I took a good look around my surroundings. "I think we're in…" But I drifted off as I walked down the alley. Once we reached the opening, I knew exactly where we were. "Transverse Town."

"Transverse Town?" Aqua asked.

I nodded. "It's more like a rest stop for travelers and a refuge for those whose worlds were taken by the darkness than an actual town. Though, there are some locals."

"I see," Aqua remarked. We walked to the middle of the plaza. "So, where is everyone?"

I looked around, noticing she was right. "I don't know. It's like a ghost town."

"You've got that right, bud," came a voice from nowhere.

Aqua and I stood back to back and summoned our Keyblades. From nowhere came a figure in jeans and a red hoodie, with the hood up. He was slightly taller than me, by about half an inch. "This place became abandoned about a year and a half ago."

"A year and a half ago…?" I asked. "What happened?"

"Over run by heartless," the mystery man said. "It was sealed away so no one could get to it. By who, no one knows."

I dismissed my blades. Aqua followed. Whoever this guy was, he didn't seem dangerous. "So, why are you here?" I asked.

"I'm waiting for something," was all he said. We waited to respond, thinking he'd add to his statement, but he didn't.

"How long have you been waiting?" Aqua then questioned.

"Just a few days," he answered.

Aqua and I nodded in acknowledgement. We looked at one another, then back to the guy. An awkward silence followed for a good two minutes. Then the guy turned around and headed towards a house up some stairs. "If you need anything, I live over here. Got it memorized?" he asked.

_Memorized…? Why does that sound so familiar…?_ I asked myself.

We watched him open the door and then turn around. "By the way, my name's…Lea. Got it memorized?"

_Lea? _I asked to myself. I looked at Aqua, how had the strangest facial expression. "Do you know him?" I whispered as quietly as possible.

"…I recognize that name, but I don't know if it is the Lea I'm thinking of," she spoke just as quietly.

"Thank you, Lea," I said. "We've got it memorized."

Lea nodded, and then walked into his house. I turned to face Aqua, who was deep in thought. "Well?"

She shook her head. "I can't place him, sorry," she said. "But, I know I've heard his name somewhere. I just can't seem to remember…"

"It mustn't be that important then," I remarked. "Don't worry about it. We need to head off and find Sora anyway." I would later find out just how important out meeting with Lea was.

Aqua nodded. "Let's head off then," she said. I summoned Cosmos to my hand and opened a Corridor of Light for us to travel through. "This will take us to Sora?"

I shook my head. "I'm not entirely sure. I'm still getting use to the whole corridor system," I answered. I knew her next question and cut her off before she could ask. "However, I'm 100% sure it won't take us back to the Realm of Darkness."

She walked towards it, getting ready to jump in. "Then let's go." And with that, she jumped through the portal. I followed shortly after.

When we landed on the other end of the portal, I was holding my stomach. "I don't know if I'll ever get use to it…" I said, nauseated. I looked up to find that we were not on a beach, what I had been hoping for, but in a library. "This…isn't where we want to be…"

Aqua looked around. "I know where we are." I was just about to ask where, when a door opened and someone walked it. I was quite surprised at who I was looking at: Minnie Mouse. Aqua smiled. "It is good to see you again, Queen Minnie."

The queen returned her smile and nodded, "As it is to see you, Lady Aqua." She looked over at me. "Who might your friend be?"

"I'm Xander, your majesty," I responded. I couldn't believe I was standing in front of Minnie Mouse. It felt almost like a dream and at any moment I'd wake up. But, no avail.

She smiled. "The king warned me to be expecting visitors. Who knew you'd be one of them, Aqua?" The queen's voice was filled with excitement. It must have been a long time since they had seen each other.

Aqua returned her smile briefly, and then a look of seriousness took over. "Where is the king? We have very important information for him."

The queen was silent as she walked over to the desk, grabbed a sealed envelope, and handed it to Aqua. "This should answer your question," she said. "The king's been acting strange lately. He and I haven't spoken for about three days. Then, he just up and vanishes leaving only two notes: One to me and the other to 'the visitors'."

Aqua opened the letter and I stood next to her, reading:

To the visitor(s) of my castle, I wish I was there to greet you myself. However, dire circumstances call for me to leave my castle and in the capable hands of my dear queen. If this is who I think it is, then I'm going to retrieve the Sky. I ask for you to remain at the castle until I return. Best regards, Mickey.

"The 'Sky'" Aqua questioned the queen. The queen shrugged and shook her head. "What does he mean?" She handed the letter to the queen

"That's odd…" The queen said, after handing the letter back. We both looked at her, puzzled. "Why would the king use a code like that…?"

I walked over to the bookshelf. _The _Sky…_?_ I kept asking myself. _A code…?_ For some reason, I knew it, but I couldn't quite place its meaning.

"What do you mean, why, your majesty?" Aqua inquired.

The queen rested her right elbow on her left hand and raised her right hand to her face, kinda like the king did. Well, from what I saw in the games the king did it. "The castle is protected from all darkness by the power of the Cornerstone. It is true that Pete has been able to sneak in, but that was only once and we corrected that. So, who else could sneak into the castle that would cause the king to code part of his letter?"

I started looking at the different books the king and queen had, still trying to figure out what the king meant by "Sky" when I saw it. I reached up, pulled it off the bookshelf, and placed it on the desk. "Your majesty, why do you and the king have a multi-language dictionary?"

The queen looked at me in confusion. "Multi-language dictionary…? I didn't know we had one."

I opened it and went to the Ss. Once I reached there, I slowed down so I could find the word sky. Once I did, I was quite surprised. "Sora…?" Both Aqua and Queen Minnie gave me funny looks. "In Japanese, Sora means sky. The king went to get Sora!"

As I said those words, the room became cold. The book case behind me began to move, bringing forth a sense of evil. I jumped onto the desk, turned around, summoned my Keyblades, and jumped down so I was standing in front of Aqua and the queen.

The bookcase moved backwards, and then slid left to reveal a hidden room. Walking out of the room was…

"Vanitas!" Aqua and I shouted.

He laughed. "You don't seem too happy to see me. And here I thought we were friends."

"Go to Hell!" Aqua exclaimed. She pointed her Keyblade at him, her eyes filled with anger.

Vanitas just snickered, walked around the desk on the left side, away from the door to the hallway, and stopped about five feet from me. As his eyes and mine met, I could feel the evil within him. Evil…and something else…

"I can see why _he_ has such an interest in you, key wielder," he said, an evil grin on his face. He summoned his Keyblade and pointed it towards the book case. "Too bad I won't allow _him_ to have the data on you." A beam of light then shot out of Vanitas' Keyblade and the bookshelf-door shut followed by a keyhole pattern appearing and the sounds of a lockclicking.

Aqua watched in horror. "No…" She rushed Vanitas, but was too late. He summoned a Corridor of Darkness and jumped backwards into it.

Aqua's Keyblade struck the wall, leaving a thin scar about five feet long on the wall. "Damnit!" She struck the wall again, this time with her fists.

"What's the big deal?" I asked. I pointed Chaos at the keyhole. "I'll just unlock it." A beam of light began forming at the tip of Chaos.

"Wait!" Aqua shouted, two seconds too late. The beam of light already shot out and entered the keyhole. However, what it did surprised me. Instead of the strange barrier unlocking and disappearing, it absorbed the energy and began shooting the energy back like a machine gun. Aqua cast a reflection spell on herself and jumped in front of me. The queen used her magic and created a barrier. It lasted for only a minute.

When I looked up, the whole place was a disaster area. The magic bullets (that's what I was calling them, anyway) had did quite a number in the room. There were holes in the ceiling, walls, floor, desk, computer, and chair. Most of the king's notes on his desk were burnt and scattered. The walls, once white, were now black from where the holes were.

"…Sorry…" I murmured. "I didn't know that would happen."

The queen walked up to me and shook her head. "Do not worry about it. I'll have this place cleaned up in a bit. Are you two okay?" she said. We both nodded. "Good. Now, where do you suppose Vanitas has run off to?"

Aqua sighed as she released the spell. "He's probably after Sora," she said. From the sound of her voice, I could tell she was upset. "We need to go after him."

"You leave Vanitas to Mickey and the others," the queen said. "They'll be fine. Besides, there is something I need to show you two." She walked towards the exit, opened the door, took one last look at the bookcase and the room, and then motioned for us to follow.

We walked down a long hallway. It looked exactly like it had on the video game. On our right, you could see the courtyard. It looked exactly like it had in the game, also. It was a beautiful sight to see; not a blade of grass was out of place. It was definitely astounding.

We stopped at a large door, which was the entrance to the throne room. The queen knocked on the door and, as I expected, a small door opened.

_Just like the game,_ I said to myself, as we walked into the throne room.

In the game, the throne room was huge. In person, it was astoundingly huge. It was twice the size of a football field, whit a huge red rug that leads straight to two chairs: the king and queen's thrones. My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The three of us started walking towards the thrones. As we walked, I admired the astounding design. I had been many places before, but this place definitely took the cake.

The walk was silent. The queen seemed to be focused only on getting to the thrones and Aqua was focused on what had happened earlier.

"So, Aqua," I spoke up. She looked over her shoulder, then forward again. "Have you been here before?"

She nodded, "Yeah, a long time ago. I followed Terra here. That's when I met the queen."

The queen turned her head towards us and smiled. "I remember that day," she said, as got closer. "That was the day when…" but she trailed off, and looked down at the ground. Aqua put her hand on the queen's shoulder.

"The day what?" I asked, very curious. For some reason, I wanted to know. _Strange… I'm not usually this nosy._

The queen and Aqua stopped abruptly. We had made it to the middle of the room where the thrones were, but I could tell from the way they both stopped I shouldn't have asked.

"That was the day," Aqua said sadly, "Terra lost himself."

I felt terrible for asking. "Sorry… I shouldn't have—"

"No need to apologize," Aqua said. I could still hear sadness in her voice. "You were bound to find out anyway."

I was about to say something, when the queen walked over to the king's throne and pressed a button under one of the chair's arms. Suddenly, the floor panel began to move, and a bright light began to radiate from underneath. The light was so bright, Aqua and I had to avert our eyes.

Once the light died down, an underground pathway was revealed. The queen led the way. Aqua was shocked when we entered the underground room. I was also, but I had also seen this place before…

"The Hall of the Cornerstone," the queen and I said together.

Both the queen and Aqua turned to face me. "How did you know?" The queen asked.

"Would you believe me if I said 'lucky guess'?" I asked, trying to get out of it. They both glared at me. I sighed, "Okay, I'll tell—"

Suddenly, I didn't feel so well. My gut instincts were telling me something was here, but I couldn't tell if it was a threat or not. Then, without warning, my Keyblades appeared in my hands.

"What are you doing?" Aqua asked.

"That's the thing, I'm not doing anything," I said. The Keyblades raised up, parallel, began pulling me towards the Cornerstone. When I was 10 feet from it, my hands flipped so the back of my hand was facing up.

The blades then crossed themselves and a spark of energy formed between them. As the energy ball grew, a beam of light shot out of it straight through the Cornerstone, and into the wall behind it. The wall began to glow several colors until it finally stopped at this strange greenish color.

My jaw dropped. "I'm really sorry!" I exclaimed. "Your majesty, I don't know what happened!"

The queen walked over to the Cornerstone, while Aqua walked over to the strange portal.

"There doesn't seem to be any damage," she said. She summoned a piece of paper to her hands and began reading. "I guess this is what the king meant." She walked over to me and handed me the piece of paper.

Dismissing my Keyblades, I took it and, before I started reading, a single sentence that was highlighted popped out at me. "'The keeper of two will open the path to save a friend'," I quoted. "Did the king...know about me?"

The queen shook her head. "I'm not sure Xander, but we'll find out when—"

"TERRA?"

The queen and I looked over at Aqua. She was running towards the portal at full speed.

"Aqua wait!" I shouted at her.

I was too late; she already jumped into the portal.

"I'm going after her," I told the queen.

She nodded. "Good luck!"

I nodded back, then went full speed ahead towards the portal.

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A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed! Please Review; reviews are great motivators! So if you want sooner updates, REVIEW! :)


	5. Terra

YAY! IT'S FINALLY HERE! Sorry for the delay! There have been some major changes in my life. I GOT ENGAGED! :D This chapter took some time, but now it is finished! I've been busy being engaged! :) Look out for chapter 6 in about a week or so!

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There is one thing I had come to realize when it came to the Keyblade: I hate traveling through portals.

I landed on my feet, but doubled over. _That…sucked…_ I said to myself.

_Suck it up, _Chaos said.

_Leave him alone, Chaos!_ Cosmos scolded.

_Its fine,_ I spoke telepathically to Cosmos. _Besides, I need to, don't I? I am the balance keeper, after all._

Neither said anything and I stood up and shook off the nausea. Once my stomach settled down, I started looking at my surroundings. The terrain was nothing but a barren wasteland: huge rock formations in the background, with long stretches of just flat land. Looking at the rock formations, it was easy to tell some of them were the scars of a terrible battle. "Where are we?"

Cosmos was just about to say something, when Aqua screamed, "TERRA! IT'S ME! STOP THIS!"

I rushed over in Aqua's direction as fast as possible. The sounds of two Keyblades colliding could be heard. Just behind the closest rock formation, which was about 100 feet from the portal, I could see sparks flying. As I moved around it, I summoned my Keyblades. I was ready to jump in at any time, but when I saw Aqua fighting the guy in armor, I was struck with awe.

Aqua was going toe-to-toe with a guy in armor. Not only that, they were fighting so fast it was all I could do to keep up by watching; there was no way I could actually keep up like they were with one another.

I hadn't been watching the fight two minutes when I thought Aqua had won. They were both in the sky and Aqua had somehow teleported behind the guy and was about to deliver the final blow when, from the corner of my eye, I saw a ball of energy flying towards her.

"AQUA!" I shouted, "TO YOUR RIGHT!"

She quickly looked to her right and deflected the energy ball in another direction. And he was counting on it. I watched in horror as the guy in armor appeared above Aqua and slashed downwards.

"AQUA—" I started to shout. However, I was too late. The guy in armor made a direct hit and sent her diving down.

I ran as fast as I could, hoping I could get underneath her so I could catch her. As I narrowed the space between us, an invisible force began to pound on my body. Something was slowing me down, trying to prevent me from reaching Aqua. As I got closer, the invisible force got stronger. I thought for sure she was a goner, as I was still a good 50 feet away and she was only 20 feet from the ground. I didn't want to watch, and yet something was telling me to. Just as she was about to hit the ground, about 10 feet or so, Aqua came to. Using a spell, Aqua was able to stop herself about a foot before she hit the ground. Once she was safe, she released the spell and finished falling.

She sat up. I could tell she was exhausted. Her breathing was very heavy and her clothing had cuts and tears from the battle with the armor guy. She had a cut on left cheek and a gash, about six inches long, on her right leg.

As soon as she hit the ground, the strange force disappeared, and I was by her side in no time. I looked up to see the armor guy slowly floating down. "I'll fight him."

"No, you can't," Aqua said, her voice shaky. "He's way too powerful for you to take on."

She started to stand up when I held Cosmos in front of her. "No, Aqua," I said, "I'll finish this fight."

I took a few steps forward and stopped when Chaos materialized in front of me.

_You do realize that you don't stand a chance, right?_ He asked.

Cosmos appeared next to him. _Normally, I wouldn't agree with him, but for once my brother is right. Your chance of victory is zero and none._

_Thanks for the confidence boosts…_ I replied. _Can't you two help me?_

They both seemed hesitant. The guy in the armor was walking towards me now, readying himself.

I took a deep breath and sighed. _If you can't—_

_It isn't that,_ Cosmos interrupted, _we just don't think you're ready for the Soul Fuse technique quite yet._

I was about to ask when Chaos stopped me. _No time for questions. Cosmos, we don't have a choice. If he is to survive, we have to use the Soul Fuse technique._ I could tell she was reluctant, however she nodded in agreement. _Hold your arms and Keyblades straight out to your sides._

I did as I was told, wondering what this Soul Fuse technique was. Cosmos placed her hands on the handle of her Keyblade and Chaos did the same on his.

_We have to be synchronized,_ she said. Chaos nodded and, together, they shouted: _Soul…Fuse!_

The feeling was astounding. I could sense the experience the both possessed, feel the power they wield, and feel their emotions.

The armor guy had stopped walking and seemed to be looking at me funny. Aqua was speechless. I put my arms down to my sides and looked from hand to hand. Nothing seemed different. They Keyblades were still the same. It was me that had changed. My left hand glowed black and I could see the outline of Chaos's hand on mine. My right hand was white with the outline of Cosmos's hand.

_In this form we've combined ourselves with you, granting you all of our powers that you can use at your level as well as our knowledge of fighting,_ they said in complete harmony. _However, because you are new to this, your body might not be able to keep up. And, one last thing, you've only got about five minutes._

I started searching through their memories for different tactics. When I found one I liked, I smiled. _Which is four more minutes than need._

The armor guy ran towards me, thinking he must have caught me off guard. He was sadly mistaken.

…Or so I thought…

He jumped in midair and blasted a beam of energy out of his Keyblade. I held up Chaos and a barrier surrounded me and absorbed the attack. Using this to catch him off guard, I shot the exact attack at him with Chaos. It was a direct hit. At an advantage, I raced towards him. I crossed Cosmos behind my back and Chaos across my chest, getting ready to use the cross-slash. When I was in range, I let the attack loose. Greatly to my surprise, a beam of light and darkness erupted from the attack. Smoke covered the battlegrounds.

I jumped a few feet back and watched carefully. I was positive I had hit him. And I was right. When the smoke cleared, he was laying on the ground not moving. I took a few steps closer and knelt down.

"That was a little too easy," I rejoiced. "I can't believe Aqua had such a hard time."

"Xander, look out!"

At that I turned around, holding up Cosmos just in time for his Keyblade and mine to collide. "What the hell?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the figure on the ground began to dissolve. _That son of a… he was a clone?_

Knowing here was my only other chance; I thrust Chaos towards the guy in armor. It didn't work. He jumped back and stood next to Aqua, his Keyblade at her throat.

_You've only got about two minutes left,_ Chaos and Cosmos said together.

…_Damn… What do I do…?_ I asked myself. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, with no idea where to go.

That's when Cosmos and Chaos sent me a message. It was brilliant. However, it'd take all the energy I had left in me. _Let's do it, you two._

I dismissed both Keyblades, but remained in Soul Fusion mode. I turned around, got on my knees, and raised my hands up. He took the bait. The armor guy lowered his Keyblade and started walking towards me. When he was a few feet away from Aqua, I jumped to my feet, spun around, and punched the air with my right hand.

The armor guy seemed confused. All I did was smile. I felt my knuckles crack as my hand hit the back of his helmet. He flew forward as I raced towards him. Using the last of my newly found strength, I kneed him in the stomach and, while he was double over my knee, I summoned Chaos and Cosmos and struck him in the back with hilts. The sounds of metal cracking metal could be heard.

The armor guy fell to the ground. He lay there, motionless. I dismissed my Keyblades, released the Soul Fusion technique, and then hobbled over to see Aqua. My right hand was bleeding like crazy. I had broken at least two of my knuckles. It hurt like hell.

I stood over Aqua and smiled. "I won."

She closed her eyes, smiled, sighed, and then looked up at me. "You di—"

But she was cut off. The next thing I knew, I felt a large gash across my back and Aqua screamed my name. I hit the floor, hard.

I could hear Aqua trying to talk to me, but nothing made sense. My vision got blurry as my hearing left me. I couldn't move, and it was all I could do to breathe. I could feel myself starting to slip. _Damn it… I'm gonna pass…_ I blacked out.

I awoke, what seemed like hours, later to Aqua above me. She was on her knees, her hands forming some kind of barrier around me. "You're awake!" she exclaimed.

"…With a hell of a headache…" I said, sitting up.

"Be careful, okay?" she warned. "You aren't completely healed."

Once I was sitting completely up, I looked around. Far to my left lay the armor guy. "Is he okay?" I turned to look at Aqua. She removed the barrier and stood up. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "That's Terra's armor, but no one was wearing it." She was on the verge of tears. "I don't know what to do. None of my healing techniques seem to work."

I looked inward, seeking Chaos, Cosmos, and their memories. _Any ideas, you two?_ I could hear the quiet whispers as the two of them began to chat with one another. A minute passed before they gave me an answer. I was somewhat confused after they told me what to do and sent me the mental images.

_Are you sure?_ In unison, both said yes. _Well, I'll give it a try._

I started to stand up, but Aqua stopped me. "You need to rest, okay? Sitting up, alone, is more than what you should be doing now. You lost a lot of energy. And, that cut across your back definitely doesn't help matters. More around too much and it might reopen."

I held out my hand. "Help me up," I said, "I may know a way to help Terra."

She looked confused at first, but my expression didn't change and she knew I was serious. "Okay," she said.

I stood up, with her help, and she grabbed me around the waste while my hand was over her shoulder. Slowly, we walked over to the armor.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, trying to figure out if I could seriously help.

"I'm not entirely sure what it is suppose to do or how it works," I began, "and I don't really know how to explain how I know this…or how I know how to do this, but let me ask you a quick question."

Aqua was even more confused now. "Okay…?"

"Your Keyblade, are you the original owner?"

She shook her head. "No, my master is, why?"

"Have you ever forged your own Keyblade?"

"No, I haven't… Where are you going with this, Xander?"

As I began telling Aqua about how Keyblades have the ability to store experience from their users and how certain Keyblade wielders can extract that information, I could hear tiny voices in my head telling me not to tell Aqua everything about _my_ Keyblades.

"So, you're saying that my Keyblade has been storing information about me and how I wielded it?" Aqua asked.

"In simple terms, yes. Also, at the Master level, one has the ability to access the memories of a user's memories, as well as abilities they were able to use. Have you ever tried it?"

"No, I haven't…" she trailed off. This seemed to be a lot of information at one time.

"You should try it some time. You might find some interesting information from your master. Possibly some information from the one who forged the Keyblade also," I explained.

"So, what about—" she stopped at we reached Terra's armor.

I told her to let go of me and I hobbled over towards the armor. Summoning my Keyblades, I lined up the handles so that the blades faced different ways, but the handles overlapped. The blades snapped into position and the handles merged. Cosmos was facing towards Terra's armor, with the teeth towards the ground, and Chaos was facing the opposite direction, with the teeth facing up.

I released the blades and let the magic do its work.

From the tip of Cosmos, a beam of light, like a flashlight, shot out and seemed to be scanning the armor. The light only lasted a few seconds before it stopped. Then, a beam of energy shot out of Chaos into the distance. From the same direction, another beam of light appeared and entered the tip of Chaos. I could see the energy traveling through and, when it reached the handle, the energy split into two parts. One of the parts then traveled through Cosmos and shot a beam of energy at the armor. The other part shot out of Chaos and into the sky.

The light seemed to be restoring the armor, as the cracks and dents disappeared. Slowly, the armor stood up and, when it was at full attention, the light faded. I grabbed the joined Chaos and Cosmos and dismissed them.

Aqua walked over to the armor. "Terra?"

The armor guy turned to her. He took a step closer and, as he did, his armor began falling off.

Tears began to weld up in Aqua's eyes. Bits and pieces of someone began to emerge as the armor fell. As the last of his armor, the helmet, fell off, Aqua rushed to his side and hugged him. "TERRA!"

He hugged her back, clutching her close. "Aqua…" he whispered.

I looked on and couldn't help but smile. _Thanks, you two._

After a long and, somewhat, sappy reunion, Aqua looked over at me and smiled. From the look in her eyes, I could tell she felt like part of her old life was returning after ten long years.

I returned her smile, but it didn't last long. I could sense something was wrong. "Aqua!" I shouted, "We've gotta leave, now!"

She didn't argue. She ran over to me to help me walk; Terra followed. Together, we ran as fast as possible: Terra on my left and Aqua on my right. We reached the portal in about two minutes, barely in time. The portal was closing and there wasn't a moment to lose. Together, we jumped through.

We landed in the Hall of the Cornerstone, all three of us out of breath. I was so tired and sore that I couldn't even feel the nausea. Both me and Aqua fell to the floor.

The queen ran to our aid as soon as we landed. Terra moved out of the way. "Oh, my! Xander you're hurt!" She exclaimed. "Aqua, you too!" She put her hands together, as if in prayer. I could feel a strange warmth, suddenly, surround me and all the pain and soreness began to fade. I looked at Aqua, whose cuts were healing up rapidly. I could feel the cut on my back dissolve, my knuckles relocate and heal. No soreness. No pain.

It took a whole of five minutes, and we were healed. The queen let out a sigh. "You heroes are always getting hurt," she said. Looking up she gasped, "Terra!"

Terra nodded. "It is good to see you again, your majesty."

I could tell there were so many questions the queen wanted to ask, but before she could someone ran into the hall.

"Your majesty!" shouted a somewhat familiar voice. Coming down the stairs was someone I had not expected to mean: Daisy Duck, Donald's lady. "I am sorry to interrupt, but I bring important news!"

"What is it, Daisy?" Queen Minnie asked.

"King Mickey," Daisy began, "has returned with Sora!"


	6. The Shadow

A/N: And here is chapter 6! :) Sorry for the delay! The next two to three chapters are gonna be big, so be expecting them sometime next week! Without further adu, enjoy Chapter 6: The Shadow

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Terra and Aqua stood up and bolted up the stairs as fast as possible. The queen and Daisy quickly followed. I stood up and started walking towards the stairs. _That was impressive,_ I said to myself. _I can't believe the queen was able to completely heal me so easily._

"_You shouldn't be surprised," _Cosmos said, materializing to my right. I looked at her, my expression asking my question. _"She draws her power from that."_

I looked at the direction she was pointing. I stopped and stared. "The Cornerstone of Light…"

"_Legend states," _Chaos began, appearing to my left,_ "the Cornerstone is a very tiny fraction of a lost world that resided in the very center of the Realm of Light."_

"Really?" I asked.

"_Well, that's just a legend," _Cosmos said. _"No one is sure whether it is real or not."_ Maybe it was the way she said it or just my imagination, but I had a feeling both she and Chaos knew more about the Cornerstone than they were really letting on.

I decided not to ask.

"_Get a move on, already!" _Chaos said, very impatiently. _"The king and Sora are waiting!"_

"Oh, crap!" I mumbled. I had almost forgotten about them. I looked towards the stairs, and that's when I saw it: someone was flying through the air.

"RIKU!" several people shouted from above. I ran towards him, barely catching him before he hit the ground.

Sure enough, after we had slid back a few feet, I saw really was Riku. He had a cut above his left eye; blood was oozing down his face. He also had blood in his hair, from another cut, and his right hand looked broken. Luckily, they weren't anything serious.

"D…damn…" he mumbled, before passing out.

"Well, that's one down," a very annoying voice laughed.

I raced up the stairs, summoning Chaos and Cosmos. "By any chance, can I use that Soul Fuse technique again?"

_It won't be possible for another 12 to 24 hours,_ Cosmos said.

"I'm going up against Vanitas, so I'm gonna need some kind of power boost." Now was definitely not the time to not have any power. "What about earlier, during my awakening?"

There was silence. _You talking about combining the blades together?_ I sent a psychic nod. _Well…_

But there was no time. As soon as I reached the last step, I saw my target. With his back facing me, I ran towards him. My surroundings seemed to vanish; I had no interest in anything else but defeating him.

I swung Chaos at him, going right to left. Vanitas must have sensed me, cause he blocked my attack. That's when my opening came: I lunged at him with Cosmos, hoping that would work. However, Vanitas was much quicker than I was. He dodged with ease, jumped back a few feet, and started laughing.

"Did you honestly think that would work?" He continued to laugh. "I'm no fool! It'll take a lot more than that to take me down."

"Then I'll just have to bring a lot more to the table," I said. I paralleled my blades. "Twin Dragons!"

A vortex of light and darkness began surrounding my blades. Soon, the two vortexes joined and my blades became one.

I had no time to waste. From what I could tell, I had about five minutes, if that, max. I shot a beam of purple light out from my blade. As the beam of light was five feet from Vanitas, I stopped it with my left hand and the beam split into ten different spheres of light. I smiled as I closed my hand, commanding the energy spheres to strike Vanitas.

The attack struck him, dead on. However, he just smiled. Then, his body began to fade. "Nice try," he smiled.

I felt my blade repel itself, and the one became two. I doubled over. Not only had that taken a lot of energy out of me, but I noticed my stamina was completely drained. _I will not pass out…_ I continued to say over and over again. Then, I passed out.

Well, kinda… I "woke up" a little bit later, but instead of being within the castle, I was in my living room. A giant entertainment center, compelled of two towers, a TV stand and TV between the two towers, a top piece that connected the towers, was on the north wall. In the middle of the room were the sofa, an arm chair and an ottoman, and two lamps on both sides of the sofa. On the left wall were a couch and a small table. Behind me was a giant bookcase, a glass cabinet on the left, and a baker's rack with picture frames on the right.

The walls were a gray color, completely bare except for the empty picture frames. No pictures in the picture frames on the baker's rack, either. There were no doors. The TV screen was half black and half white.

"Where in the world am I?" I asked. There was an echo in my voice.

"This is your mind, silly!" a familiar voice explained. I looked to my right to see Cosmos.

"This is the most inner most part of your mind, where balance is kept." I looked to my right to see Chaos.

"…How did I get here, Cosmos? …Chaos?" I asked.

Cosmos just smiled as she sat down, on my right, next to me on the sofa. Chaos took the arm chair.

"Babe, who is 'Cosmos'?"

"And who the hell is 'Chaos'?"

It was then I realized. At first glance, they looked like Cosmos and Chaos. However, that is when I saw the differences.

"Alexia?" I asked. She nodded.

"Zane?" He nodded.

I couldn't believe it, the two most important people in my life were standing right before me and I didn't even notice it was them. I looked down. "Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, okay?" Alexia said, smiling. "You've got a lot on your mind."

Zane shook his head. "You worry too much, man. Relax, okay?"

I took a deep breath and then released. "What's going on?"

"Straight to business, as usual…" Zane mumbled. Alexia threw a pillow at him.

"Your heart, soul, and mind are not in sync," she answered.

"And so you two are here because…" I drifted off. I now knew exactly why they were here. "…because whenever I'm around you two, I'm always at ease…" They both smiled. And I smiled back. I began remembering all the great time we had together. As I did, the empty picture frames began to glow. My memories began playing in them.

"We always had great times together, didn't we? No matter what we did: hanging with friends, cuddling on the couch, or just being with each other." Alexia said. Memories of the two of us on our first date, our first kiss, the first time I said "I love you," appeared in the picture frames on the wall.

Zane stood up and looked at one of the picture frames. "Remember this one?" he asked, pointing to one of the frames on the baker's rack. "We use to pretend to be warriors. We'd take old mops and brooms, cut off the heads, then use electrical tape to make the handle." He was smiling.

I stood up, followed by Alexia. "Yeah, we all had some great times," I said. After taking a few steps forward, I turned around to face them. "Remembering the times we spent together always puts me at ease."

"We know," they said, together.

I hadn't really noticed it at first, but now it was entirely clear. The entire situation with Vanitas and the Keyblades had caused me to become unstable. _That's why I attacked Vanitas irrationally_... I said to myself. _I haven't been myself lately, since this whole thing started._ I looked back up. "Thanks."

They both nodded and smiled. "Just remember, that's all you gotta do," they said, simultaneously. I nodded. And then, they faded.

I woke up shortly after my encounter with Alexia and Zane. _I feel more at peace,_ was my first thought. I sat up, noticing I was on a hospital-like bed. I looked around at my surroundings. The room was a sky blue. There was a desk on the right next to my bed; on it was my jacked, gloves, and other accessories. On the floor, next to the desk, were my boots. Surrounding my bed was a sheet, like those you see at hospitals. The only difference: this one was very thin and see-through.

I looked over to my left after hearing a faint noise. I couldn't believe who it was: Riku. He was lying on a bed, which looked exactly like mine. There was even a desk on the right side. He was breathing kinda heavily. I noticed the cut over his eye had been bandaged up. His right hand had also been bandaged up. It all started coming back to me, everything that had happened.

"Ah, you're awake!" an excited voice bellowed.

I turned to my right, noticing a door in the corner of the room; in walked Aqua and, to my surprise, Kairi.

"How are you feeling?" Aqua asked. She came over and sat down in a chair next to the bed. Kairi walked over to Riku and sat down in a chair next to him.

"Alright. You?" I asked, in return.

She smiled. "Not too bad." She turned and looked at the door. "You gonna coming in?"

I looked at the doorway and saw Terra leaning against it. I hadn't even noticed him, and yet I was facing that way the whole time. _He's good…_

He walked in and up to my bed. Instead of the 'Hey, how are you?' that I was expecting, he said, "You're nuts."

It took me a few seconds to comprehend what he had said. _Wha…?_

"Terra!" Aqua scolded. "That's no way to greet someone who brought you back!"

Terra shook his head. "He didn't bring me back, his Keyblades did," he retaliated. Aqua was quiet. "Also, the way you took out that _Shadow_ was just luck. You have no skill when it comes to the Keyblade. If it wasn't for their power, you'd be dead."

I didn't know what to say. Part of me wanted to slug him, but the other half could see where he was coming from. True, it was mainly the Keyblades power; however… _I had to have some skill…_ I kept telling myself that, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew he was right.

Suddenly, Aqua stood up. The chair flipped backwards. Kairi looked in our direction. "Hallway, now." From the tone of her voice I could tell she was pissed.

As she and Terra walked out, I swung back around and sighed. I lay back down, closed my eyes, and began thinking of my friends.

"Ummm...Xander?" a gentle voice called my name. I looked over to see Kairi standing right outside the curtain. "I want to thank you for catching Riku. If you hadn't…" She had tears in her eyes.

"Don't mention it," I said. "How is he?"

She looked back at him. "The queen said he had no major injuries, other than his busted right hand. But, with her healing magic, he should be good as new in about a day or so."

"Can I ask a question, Kairi?" I asked.

She looked kinda confused. She had never introduced herself to me. "How did you…?"

I froze; it hadn't even occurred to me. _Crap…_ I thought, _how the hell am I gonna explain this?_

But lady luck was on my side. Right after she asked me how I knew, Aqua walked back in. "I see you two are introducing yourselves?"

"We are," I answered. "Xander."

"Kairi," was all she said.

"Now then," Aqua cleared her throat, "Xander, think you can stand?" I swung around and got out of bed. "Excellent! Put your boots on, then you and Kairi meet me in the study."

We both nodded, and then Aqua left. After I had my boots on and Kairi made sure Riku was comfortable, we left the room and headed to the study.

"You never did answer my question," Kairi remarked.

I knew if she looked me in the eyes, more than likely, she would be able to tell I was lying. "I heard the queen mention your name," I answered. I did my best to avoid eye contact by keeping my focus forward.

"I see…" she trailed off. "You wanted to ask me a question?"

I thought for a moment. "Yeah, I did," I said. "What's a 'Shadow'?"

Kairi was quiet for a moment. "…what are you talking about?"

"Didn't you hear Aqua and Terra's conversation?"

She shook her head. "No, sorry. Those curtains are specially designed so that sound anywhere from low to medium volume cannot be heard. When the chair hit the ground earlier, I heard only a slight noise," she replied. "And, also, no one can see inside the curtains, but people can see out them."

"Interesting…" I trailed off. _Those would be useful back home._

_Get your head out of the gutter!_ shouted an annoyed Cosmos. Chaos just laughed.

"About time, Kairi!" someone joked.

I looked up to see none other than Sora. I couldn't believe it was really him, but sure enough it was.

"How's Riku?" he asked.

"He's getting better," Kairi said. "His hand seems to be healing nicely."

"That's great!" Sora exclaimed. "He'll be back on his feet in no time!"

I looked at the two of them just standing there and couldn't help but think of Alexia. Sora had such a crush on Kairi and they were about the same age as Alexia and I were when we finally admitted it to one another.

"Hurry up, you three!" Aqua commended. We looked in her direction to see her standing in front of the door. We headed that way as quickly as possible and into the study.

Ever seen those movies where the hero walks in and there is this really, eerie quiet, like everyone was expecting you? Well, that's what I walked into. The room had been completely put back together; you couldn't even tell there was a fight in here. The king was sitting at his desk; his queen on his right, Donald and Goofy on his left. Terra was standing on the other side of the desk.

"So, you're finally awake," the king said, breaking the silence.

However, my attention wasn't on the king. I was more focused on the room behind the book case. The room still seemed to be sealed off, however the bookcase door had been pushed back, somehow. Inside, I could see computers; but, what was on the computers surprised me the most: me. It was from a distance, but I could see my picture on one of the monitors.

"You were…monitoring me?" I asked. The king looked down. "Vanitas mentioned something about you having data on me…"

"I made a promise to someone, so I can't give you the specifics. But, yes, I've been monitoring you. Ever since the 'incident'," the king informed.

"'Incident'?" I questioned. I was trying to remember, but nothing jogged my memory.

"You were about ten," the king said. He studied me carefully. "You don't remember, do you?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't. I can't remember anything that happened to me when I was ten that would be considered an 'incident'."

The king looked behind him, and then sighed. "I'd show you, but Vanitas has sealed us out."

"Who are your connections in my world?" I bluntly asked.

The king shook his head. "I made a promise not to reveal who he, she, or they are," the king answered. "I'm sorry, Xander."

I didn't know what to say. I was shocked.

"So, why are we here?" Sora asked.

The king cleared his throat. "We're here to stop Vanitas and save Ventus," he began. "Thanks to Xander, both Terra and Aqua have been rescued and restored to their original selves. Now, we must stop Vanitas, by reuniting the fractured pieces of his heart properly with Vanitas and then sealing them within Ven's body."

"However," Terra added, "It isn't going to be that easy. Vanitas has obtained a new power, something that has made him even stronger than he originally was. He was able to knock Riku pretty far, as well as bust up his hand. And that was only his Shadow. Who knows what he is capable of now."

"We were lucky that Xander was able to destroy his Shadow, otherwise I don't know if we would have been able to beat it," Aqua put in. Terra didn't seem pleased, but he didn't say anything.

"So, where do we go from here?" Sora asked.

"Castle Oblivion," I said. Everyone looked at me. "Ven's in one of the rooms at Castle Oblivion."

Aqua looked speechless. Terra's eyes widened. Both Sora and Kairi looked confused. The king, however, didn't seem phased.

"That makes sense," a voice from the doorway spoke up. There in the doorframe, barley standing, stood Riku. He was leaning against the doorframe for support. Sora made an attempt to help, but he waved him away. "That's what Organization XIII was looking for."

"That's right," Terra said. "My memories as Xemnas are very faint, but I do remember something about a room—"

"Chamber," I corrected. Terra gave me a strange look. "You're talking about the Chamber of Repose, where you'd go as Xemnas to try and regain your memories."

Everyone seemed shocked, except for the king. And I knew the next question before it was asked. "It's kinda hard to explain how I know…"

"And right now, it isn't that important." The king laced his fingers and rested his chin on the back of his hands. "Right now, we need to be focusing on rescuing Ven."

"So, we're going to Castle Oblivion?" Sora asked.

Terra walked over to the far wall and placed his hand on it. A corridor opened. "We're going to Castle Oblivion."


	7. Castle Oblivion,pt1: Dark Memories

A/N: Chapter 7 is up! Sorry for the delay. This chapter was a little tricky to write, but i finally finished it! Expect Chapter 8 somewhere between the end of this week or next week. And, now, on to the story...

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_We're back where we started…_ I thought. Cosmos and Chaos sent me a psychic nod.

I turned around to see Riku being helped by Sora. Kairi was on the other side of him, making sure he could keep his balance.

"He shouldn't have come along; he's still recovering." I heard Terra whisper to Aqua. She didn't respond. "Aqua, what is it?"

_She is the creator of this place_, Cosmos said.

_And the reason Ven is in that room,_ Chaos finished.

I wasn't surprised by this news. "Shall we head in?" The others nodded, and in we marched.

We didn't even make it ten feet in the door when Aqua started walking towards a room. "Everyone, in here." We followed.

The room we walked into was not what I was expecting, at all. It had a very warm feeling to it. The walls were painted auburn orange. The furniture, which consisted of a bed/sofa type deal, a few arm chairs, some beanbag chairs, and a table, was a dark red, outlined in gold. It reminded me of leaves in the fall, or some royal chamber; I hadn't decided which one. There was a fireplace in the center of the room. Pictures of different worlds hung on the walls. We had to descend a few steps to enter the room.

"This," Aqua began, "is the Room of Recovery—"

_How lame…_ Chaos and I thought. Cosmos psychically smacked us in the head.

"—and also _my_ room. Well, was, anyway..." She stopped abruptly. Everyone was giving her a funny look. "What?"

"This doesn't remind me of you, at all…" Terra said. Aqua raised her eyebrow, in a slightly annoyed way. "No offense, of course!" He was trying to save his butt. "You were saying?"

She didn't look hurt, which was a good sigh. "As I was saying, this is the Room of Recovery, and my former room. Here, one's wounds heal faster than normal. Usually about five times the normal speed. How do you feel, Riku?"

We all turned our attention towards Riku. Sora let go and he stood on his own, rubbing his right hand. "We were only in her for a minute…" He looked very surprised. "How—"

"Magic," Aqua cut him off. "I specialize in magic. So, naturally, my old room is enchanted with magic. Though, I must say, the fireplace is new…anyway, this is also a safe room. No one can enter or exit unless they have the power to control a Keyblade." Everyone nodded. "Also, this room moves around—"

"Moves around?" Sora interrupted. "What do you mean it 'moves around'?"

Aqua summoned her Keyblade and held it up; Terra's eyes widened when he saw it. "I'm the one who created this place." Everyone looked shocked. "This use to be the Land of Departure where our master resided and we trained. When our master was…" I could tell she was struggling with her words.

"Aqua?" Terra spoke softly. She didn't want to meet his eyes. "Master Eraqus—"

"He isn't dead," I blurted out, unexpectedly. Both Terra and Aqua looked at me in disbelief. "What?"

"What do you mean, he isn't dead?" Aqua asked, hopefully. Terra gave me the same look.

"I can't exactly explain it…" Chaos and Cosmos were yelling at me; apparently I wasn't supposed to tell them that. Whoops… "But, I can sense him. I don't know where he is, but he's still alive."

"But then—"

"Eraqus simply lost his connection to this world. That doesn't mean he's dead."

Aqua had tears in her eyes, but she whipped them away and sighed. "That's a relief…" She was trying to keep it together. I probably shouldn't have said anything, but now I could see a gleam of hope in her eyes "Now, where was I…? Oh, yeah! This room moves around. To locate this room, use your Keyblade…"

My attention faded. I was looking at Terra, noticing the look of guilt on his face. The visions I had the night before started going through my mind: Terra and Aqua competing in the Master Qualification Exam; Terra descending into darkness; Ventus fighting Vanitas; the X-Blade. Soon, my head began to hurt and I started remembering all I saw. _Enough thinking._ Chaos snapped me out of my trance. _We don't want your head exploding. That'd be one hell of a mess… Though, your brain is kinda small…_

_Shut up, you jerk,_ Cosmos scolded. _You can be such an ass sometimes…_

I sighed and focused back on Aqua, in time for her to say, "We'll need to split up in groups."

"Wait, why?" I asked. "You created this world, so don't you know where he is. Can't you just make the room appear?"

She shook her head, sadly. "I cannot. My connection to this world has become so faint; I don't have any way to locate Ven's room." I felt really bad for asking, but then Aqua had a mood swing and smiled. "We're so very close to finding him. So, let's split up and head out before Vanitas finds him!"

We decided that three groups would be the best: Riku and the king made up one team; Aqua, Sora, and Kairi made another; that left me and Terra. I was thrilled with joy, let me tell you... And from the look of it, he wasn't too fond of teaming up with me.

Outside the Room of Recovery (which is still a lame name…) Aqua said a few more words, "Remember: if you find yourselves in trouble, use your Keyblades to find the Room of Recovery. Now, let's do this!"

And off we went. We headed down the hallway and stopped at a stair well. We climbed up and at the second floor Aqua, Sora, and Kairi took off. At the third floor, Riku and the king left. At the fourth floor, it was me and Terra.

Talk about uncomfortable silence. Why Aqua teamed us up was beyond me. We walked through the white hallways; the only noise was our footsteps echoing off the walls. We passed door after door, opening and closing them; nothing but empty rooms.

"Nothing on this floor." I tried to sound upbeat and happy. It wasn't working all that well. Terra wasn't fooled.

"Let's keep going."

We kept walking through the hallway till we came to a door at the end. Terra opened it and his eyes widened. "No way…"

We walked in and I couldn't believe where we were.

"Is this…?"

"The Enchanted Dominion," Terra stated.

"Isn't this where Aurora is from?"

Terre gritted his teeth. "…and Maleficent." There was anger in his voice. If a cold wind were to have blown through, that would have made the moment.

We walked in and were greeted by the strangest of creatures in a meadow. They were blue and black with red eyes and about three feet high. They reminded me of piranhas. Terra summoned his Keyblade as soon as he saw them. "Unversed…"

I summoned my blades. I knew exactly what to do. "There's about twenty of them. We each take about ten or so?"

But Terra didn't respond. There was anger in his eyes; anger that I'd never seen before. It was like he was reliving a bad dream. He rushed in, hacking and slashing like crazy. One after another, the "Unversed" just disappeared. It never even occurred to me to help; Terra had every one of them whipped.

Once he was finished, he released his Keyblade. I released mine and then, somewhat hesitant, walked over to him. "That was—"

"Insane?"

"Wild."

Terra gave me one of those "your point" looks. And I knew what I was about to say would either put me on his "you're okay" side, or his "I'm gonna beat your ass" side. "Eraqus's heart is no longer mended with yours."

His eyes flashed a vibrant blue. I wasn't sure what it meant, but I was hoping it was something good. When his eyes met with mine, I could tell he was feeling guilty about something. "What do you mean?"

_His memories must have faded_, I thought. I could feel Chaos and Cosmos telling me not to tell him, but I felt like I needed to. If Terra's heart wasn't set on saving Ven, then there was no way we would succeed. "Eraqus's heart was separated from yours when Chaos and Cosmos reunited your heart with your body. I'm not sure where it is…" Truthfully, I had an idea, but I didn't want to get his hopes up. "But I can tell that he is still alive. And possibly reunited with his body…or another vessel."

"But, he is alive?" Terra asked, almost in disbelief. I nodded. He sighed, and I could see a lot of tension, stress, guilt, and worry leave. "Now, let's focus on finding Ven."

We started running through the meadow and lake, ending up at a bridge that connected to a castle. The castle was beautiful. _Definitely Sleeping Beauty's castle,_ I said to myself.

We were halfway across the bridge when Terra stopped running. "What's the matter?"

I could tell he was somewhat shaken up, even though he was hiding it very well. "This isn't possible…"

"You've been here before, haven't you?" He nodded. "What happened here?"

"If this is my memory of that time, you're about to find out."

I was going to ask what he meant, but then I saw it…err, well, her. From the other side of the bridge, connecting to the castle, a woman walking towards us. She looked very familiar, and when she was close enough I realized why. Walking towards us was none other than Maleficent, looking as evil as ever (if that is even possible).

"Maleficent," we both said. I could hear the hatred in Terra's voice. And I knew his heart had to have been troubled.

"Ten years ago," Terra began, "I came here looking for Master Xehanort under Master Eraqus's orders. I first arrived at that meadow with the lake and battled a group of Unversed called Floods, just like those creatures we saw. After that, I started towards this bridge and met _her_. To make it short, she tricked me into taking Princess Aurora's heart." His voice wasn't shaky, but rather agitated. "She manipulated the darkness within me to help her."

I was quite for a few seconds trying to taking in everything he had told me. "Did you…" I wasn't sure how to phrase this. "You never got over it, did you?"

He shook his head. "How could I? I did something so terrible to her."

"Aurora is a Princess of Heart, one that bears no darkness within. I'm pretty sure she's forgiven you. She might not have even known her heart was taken."

"But, how? What I did…"

"What you did was wrong, don't be mistaken. However, it isn't entirely your fault. Back then, you couldn't control the Darkness, could you?" He shook his head. "Now, you have full control over it, right?" He nodded. "A Princess of Heart has no darkness within their selves. Resentment, revenge, anger. What would those do for her? If you were to ask her now, I bet you she'd have already forgiven you. All you need to do now is forgive yourself."

Terra looked down, trying to digest what I had said. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out when I became Doctor Phil… _The hell did that come from?_

_Well, you are the one with the most patients in your family. And, besides, how many family fights have you had to get in between and break up?_ Cosmos asked. I thought about what she said, which made sense, and then wondered how she knew about that when…

_You like roast beef dipped in white chocolate?_ Chaos randomly stated. _You are freaking weird…_

_Are you two scanning my brain or something?_

_Well…_ Cosmos tried to play innocent.

_Yep._ Chaos just didn't care. _You like fried dill pickles, too? You ain't half bad._

I mumbled a "_Thanks?_", and then focused back on the task at hand: Maleficent.

She was standing about six feet away. I could just feel the darkness radiating off of her. Chaos was complaining. _Bitch gives us darkness users a bad name. Hope one of you shove a Keyblade up her ass sideways…_ I was trying not to smile as Cosmos was laughing.

"And who might you be?" She asked. Her voice was shriller than I thought it was. "Why aren't you two asleep like everyone else?"

"We are visitors, just passing through." Terra was just seconds away from summoning her Keyblade if she were to strike at us.

"I see…" Her ugly mug making a strange expression, like she could sense the darkness coming from us. "You, boy." She was pointing her rod at me. The orb on top began to glow. "Why do I—"

She never got to finish her sentence. Terra stabbed her in the heart with his Keyblade. Only the tip entered, but when he pulled it out a dark liquid began flooding out. At first, I thought it was blood; I was wrong. Coming out of her chest, where her heart was, was the darkness she had been using to empower herself. She fell to her knees and then fell forward on her face. Slowly, she dissolved.

I looked at Terra, who seemed proud of what he had done. The smirk on his face told me so. When our eyes met, the smirk left and he straightened up his posture. "No point in reliving past events," was all he said.

I nodded in understanding and we pressed forward towards the castle.

We were in such a hurry, I didn't even have time to site see. I can tell you one thing, though: the castle looked just like it did in the movie. Before I knew it we were running up stairs and, when we finally stopped running, we ended up in front of a large wooden door.

"Good…thing…I'm…in…shape…" I wheezed. I hadn't run like that since freshman PE. I looked at Terra, who was just fine. "So…now what?" I was finally catching my breath.

"We go in." And, together, we pushed the door open and walked in.

Imagine my surprise as _the_ Sleeping Beauty, Princess Aurora, is, well, sleeping on a bed about twenty feet away from us. Now, imagine my surprise as a crow is sitting on a ledge with a black clock in its feet. Multiply that by the size of the castle, because that black clock transformed before our very eyes into Maleficent.

"But, you struck her down on the bridge…" I whispered. Terra didn't say anything. He kept his attention on the evil witch.

_Bitch just doesn't die…_ Chaos was complaining.

_Then why don't YOU do something about it_, Cosmos piped up. Chaos mumbled something to the effect of "stupid memories" under his breath.

"Memories…?" Then it struck me. "She's nothing but a memory."

He glanced over at me; our eyes locked for a few seconds, and then he turned his attention back toward Maleficent. "What do you mean?"

"Castle Oblivion has the ability to take one's memories and make them real." I was trying my best to gather my thoughts and explain, praying that what I was going to say would make sense. "When we entered the room, your memories of what happened that day overwhelmed you and brought Maleficent back."

"So, what do I need to do?"

"Forgive yourself."

Terra was quiet. He closed his eyes and took a deep sigh. Maleficent, now fully reformed, walked towards us. "Your deaths shall be instant!" She was pissed.

She pointed her rod at Terra, a dark ball of energy forming at the tip. I put my hand on Terra's shoulder, and then pulled him back as I summoned Chaos to deflected the blast. Terra looked surprised, at first, but soon regained his usual "tough guy" look.

"I'll handle her," I said, summoning Cosmos. "You come to terms with what you've done." Terra was going to protest, but I beat him to it. "If you don't learn to forgive yourself, you're not going to be able to save Ven." Terra nodded, closed his eyes, again, and took a deep breath, trying to relax himself.

She lunged forward, powering up another energy blast. I swung Chaos at her, hitting the tip of the rod and breaking it the orb on top. She cried in anger. I stabbed her with Cosmos, right in the chest. She fell to the floor. _That was a little too easy…_ But it wasn't long till she got back up. Her eyes started glowing green and I had a feeling I knew what was about to come next.

But, suddenly, she stopped moving. It was as if time was completely frozen around her. I turned to look at Terra, who wasn't there. "Terra…?"

"Princess Aurora…" he said. I turned back around to see him kneeling next Aurora. "I…I'm sorry."

Aurora's eyes opened and she sat up. She placed a hand on Terra's shoulder. "Terra," she said gently. A light surrounded her. Maleficent didn't budge. "What is it you want most?"

"…to be forgiven…"

"I never blamed you."

"…Xander was right?" He sounded so disappointed when he said that.

She looked up at me, then back to Terra and nodded. "You must forgive yourself to keep going forward."

Terra stood up. "Thank you, princess." He turned around, walked past me, summoned his Keyblade, and pointed it at Maleficent. "Never again." A beam of light shot out and surrounded her. Then the whole place began to glow like crazy. The light was so bright I had to close my eyes. When it finally dimmed down, I noticed we were no longer in the tower. We were in an all white room: no windows, no decorations, no furniture, and two doors.

Terra walked over to me, his eyes telling me all I needed to know. "Let's go."

We walked through (what I figured was) the north door. As soon as we opened the door, we saw some very familiar faces.

But it wasn't a happy moment.

"Is this all you've got?"

The voice sent a chill down my spine. We rushed into the room to see our worst fears conformed.

"Vanitas!"


	8. Castle Oblivion,pt2: The Door to Ven

A/N: It's finally up, ladies and gentlemen! Hope you all enjoy! Don't know when I'll get the next chapter up... Hopefully soon...

* * *

"Vanitas!" Terra shouted, racing towards him with his Keyblade in hand.

I started towards Vanitas, but at the last second saw Kairi kneeling over Sora. "What happened?"

Kairi had tears in her eyes. "After we cleared our obstacle, we entered this room to find Vanitas waiting for us. Before we could even react, Sora got hurt. He was protecting me…" She was trying her best not to break down and cry. "I've been trying to heal him, but…"

I looked at Sora, who seemed fine. There didn't appear to be a scratch on him. I was confused. "What did Vanitas do?"

Kairi shook her head. "I-I'm not sure… He pointed his Keyblade at Sora during their fight when he caught him off guard and there was this flash. Then, Sora just fell to the ground…"

An explosion caused me to look up at the others who were fighting Vanitas. They weren't doing so well. They all seemed short of breath and tired. From where I was looking, it looked like it was all they could do to keep up with him. "Only one person can possibly beat Vanitas…"

Kairi looked at me. "Who?"

I looked at her, then Sora. "Ventus. We have to get Sora to Ventus." Kairi looked confused. "I'll explain later, okay? Right now, we have to go from here…" I looked around the room, but to my surprise I saw no door. However, I could feel the sleeping presence of Ven somewhere close by. "…there's no door?"

Kairi looked around the room. She must have just noticed it also. "Wait, what?"

"There's no door or any kind of entry way to Ven's room…" I looked up at Vanitas. "I bet he's the reason." I could feel the negative energy flowing from him. "There has to be some way we can bind him down long enough to enter the Chamber of Waking."

Time was of the essence. I knew the others wouldn't be able to hold out long. I don't know where he was getting this power, but Vanitas had to be stopped. And I knew Ventus and Sora were the keys.

_Any suggestions?_ I asked the twins.

_You can't fight him head on. That's suicide. You aren't as experienced as the others,_ Cosmos said. _He was even able to take down Sora, who is experienced… Definitely not a good sign…_

_Is there a way we could overpower the negative energy coming from him?_

_You could,_ Chaos began, _but the amount of power that would take is far beyond your level._

I looked over at Kairi, who was holding Sora's hand. _What about a Princess of Heart?_

There was a slight hesitation from both of them. _What's wrong?_ I asked.

_Even a Princess of Heart can hold negative feelings,_ Cosmos said. _She bears no darkness within, but that doesn't mean she is always pure of mind._

_What about putting a barrier around him?_

_It's possible…_ Cosmos finally admitted.

_There's just one problem,_ Chaos announced, _there is no way you can get close enough to him for it to work._

Running out of options, and, from the looks things, time, I clinched my fists. _There has to be something we can do.._. Sora was starting to groan, as if he was in pain.

I was lost in thought when something caught my attention. Aqua was hurdling towards me. I was completely off guard. Luckily, at the last second, Kairi noticed and put up a barrier to shield us and to soften Aqua's landing.

"Thanks!" she said. She started back towards Vanitas.

That's when an idea struck. It was a long shot and I knew Cosmos and Chaos wouldn't be too fond of it, but it was the only thing I could think of.

"Aqua!" She stopped and looked back at me. I summoned Cosmos. "Put up your armor, now!" She looked dazed till I held out Cosmos. She hit her shoulder pad then held out her hand and took Cosmos. As she did, she began to radiate light.

"How…?" I couldn't see her expression from behind her helmet, but if I had to guess it was one of surprise.

I summoned Chaos next, and then shouted, "Terra!" He looked over at me, saw Aqua, then hit his shoulder pad with the armor on it. I threw Chaos at him, and, when he grabbed it, he began to radiate with dark energy.

Inside, Chaos and Cosmos were not happy…

_The hell are you doing?_ Chaos asked. He was definitely pissed.

_That's pretty risky, you know! _Cosmos stated, just as pissed.

_Just trust me, okay?_

I stood there, watching and waiting as Terra and Aqua, now in their armor state, battling with Vanitas—lending them my powers seemed to have given them an advantage—while trying to fight off Chaos and Cosmos screaming in my head. Finally, I just shut them out.

_We'll talk later!_ I finally said, closing my mind and heart to them. I had to have my complete concentration on Terra and Aqua for my plan to work. I watched with a careful eye, making sure I could keep up with their Keyblades. What I was planning on doing had to be timed perfectly.

It was definitely a sight to behold. Playing the games, Sora could only be so powerful. But watching these two go against Vanitas I realized that there isn't a limit on power, especially when it comes to the Keyblade.

For what seemed like forever, the three Keyblade wielders kept blocking blow for blow. I was getting impatient. I could tell Sora needed help; his moans were getting worse, which could only mean he was in a lot of pain. _Just a little bit longer, Sora._

I continued to keep my focus on Terra and Aqua's fight with Vanitas. _Come on…_ I could hear Kairi talking to Riku now. The king was standing next to me. I had a feeling he knew what it was I was trying to do.

Then it happened, just as I expected. Terra and Aqua, using their Keyblades, had entrapped Vanitas's Keyblade between the two. Now, they were in position to jab Vanitas with my Keyblades, having both blades pointed directly at him.

I put my hands together and began to use the energy I had been focusing to channel to my Keyblades. "Twin Dragon Seal!"

Two dragon heads flew out of my Keyblades, one white and one black, and began to swirl around him. After having completely engulfed him, the two dragon heads, one under Vanitas and one above him, charged towards each other, their mouths open wide, and locked with each other to complete the seal.

Aqua and Terra, who had let go of my Keyblades when I began the seal, were now standing in front of me. They didn't look too pleased.

"What the hell was that?" Terra asked, in a demanding tone. "You could have given us a little warning, you know?"

"Sorry, but I knew there was no way I'd be able to get close enough to him and I figured that you two could. I apologize for deceiving you, but at least it worked."

Aqua sighed. "What's important is that we could stop Vanitas to find Ven." She looked over to Kairi and Sora. "He's still unconscious?" Kairi gave a sad nod. "We need to—"

"Sorry to interrupt," the king interrupted, "but that seal of Xander's is starting to fail."

We all looked up. Sure enough, the seal was starting to break. Gaps could be seen from the swirling energy.

"We have to get to Ven's room, now!" I stated, looking around for the door to the Chamber of Waking. With all the negative energy temporarily confined, I thought finding the door to Ven would be easy. I was wrong. Several doors had appeared within the room. And, judging by the way my seal was holding up, we had less than a minute.

As Riku and Terra grabbed Sora to carry him, Aqua stood by me. "Which one is it?"

I took quick looks at each of the doors. There were seven, each with a different colored symbol. Nothing was sticking out in my mind, though. I tried to remember what all I had seen in that vision.

_Damn it…_ I said, looking up quickly at Vanitas. The seal was about thirty seconds from failing and, with it, our only chance of finding Ven. I looked to Aqua and Terra, hoping for some kind of clue.

That's when I saw it.

I turned and pointed to the door third from the right. "That one!"

We raced to make it to the door. _Fifteen seconds… This is gonna be damn close…_

The seal was almost broken and the negative energy from Vanitas was starting to spill out. The doors were, one by one, begging to vanish.

_Come on! Come on!_ I kept shouting to myself. _We're almost there!_

I made it to the door first and, instead of the door opening in any way, I somehow phased through it. I looked back to see Aqua and Kairi, who had been right on my heels, make it through. However, Terra and Riku were still a good ten feet away.

Noticing that they wouldn't make it through in time, they did the only thing that crossed their minds: they threw Sora at me.

"What the—OOF!" I caught Sora, was thrown backwards, and landed on my back. "That smarts…"

"TERRA! KING MICKEY! RIKU!" Kairi shouted. I looked up just in time to see the door seal shut and Vanitas break free.

_Oh, crap… _Even from in here, it was easy to tell Vanitas was pissed. _Good luck, guys…_


	9. Castle Oblivion,pt3: Chamber of Wakening

"Damn, he's heavy…" I said, rolling Sora off of me. Kairi, who had been staring at the wall, came over to help. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was worried.

"Kairi?" She looked up at me. "There isn't anything to worry about, okay? Riku, Terra, and King Mickey can take care of themselves."

She looked down at Sora and let out a huge sigh. "You're right," she said. "My focus needs to be on Sora now."

I nodded. There was no time for distractions. Even though the three of them could take care of themselves, Vanitas wasn't an opponent to take lightly. All they would be able to do is hold him off until we awoke Ven.

I stood up and looked around the room. It was just as I remembered it: white walls with an upside-down Nobody-like symbol that was pulsing with energy, starting from the chair in the middle of the room through chains that were imprinted on the floor. Aqua was squatted in front of the chair; a single tear could be seen falling off her cheek as the light pulsed from the floor.

"Aqua?" I asked.

She stood up, whipping the tear away. "Bring Sora over here." Kairi and I each took a side and brought Sora over. "Place him in the chair next to Ven."

We did, and then backed up.

"He looks familiar," Kairi said. "Ven, I mean."

_He looks like Roxas,_ I said to myself. "So, what now?"

"I don't know," Aqua said. "I was hoping something would just happen, but I guess not."

Silence fell over us. _What do we do now?_ I asked myself, over and over. _I wonder if…_ That's when it hit me, and it was a hard hit.

_Hey Cosmos, Chaos. What's up?_

_What the hell were you thinking? Locking us out like that! You bastard!_ Yep, Chaos was pissed.

_I don't normally agree with my brother, but he's right. That was dangerous, closing your mind to us. We are in sync with our Keyblades, or did you forget?_ Cosmos asked.

_And, more importantly, transferring our powers to others, even for a short period of time, is extremely dangerous business. Do NOT do it again, or else,_ Chaos threatened.

_I'm really sorry, _I said. _And you two can yell at me later, but for now we've got a situation. _

Cosmos and Chaos, instead of asking me what was going on, scanned my memories from the time I shut them out to now.

_So, Sora is unresponsive,_ Chaos said.

_I bet Vanitas cast a 'Shadow' into Sora's heart,_ Cosmos said.

_A 'Shadow'? What's a 'Shadow'?_ I asked. _Wait, didn't we fight one earlier?_

_Yeah, we did, _Chaos answered. _'Shadows' are the result of one casting a portion of their spirit into another's body, fully taking over and transforming that person into the caster._

_It is extremely dark and dangerous magic,_ Cosmos added. _Only a being of the most negative energy can use that ability. _

_I see…_ _So, what do we do?_ I was getting aggravated. The others wouldn't be able to hold out very long, and Vanitas was definitely out for blood. If we didn't hurry soon, they might be dead.

_Only one who can manipulate the heart of other's can open a portal into Sora's heart,_ responded Cosmos.

_Well, can either of you do that?_

_Nope,_ Chaos quickly answered. _But, she can…_

I looked over at Kairi. _She can?_

_Look beyond,_ they said in unison.

_Look…beyond…?_ I was beyond puzzled. "Hey, Kairi? You know Sora the best out of the three of us. Any ideas as to how we can somehow help him?"

Kairi looked down at the ground, which told me right then that she did. "I think so…" She drifted off.

"What's wrong?" Aqua asked.

Kairi shook her head. "Nothing… It's just…I've never done this before."

"Done what?" I asked.

"Called to _her_…"

"Who is 'her'?" Aqua asked.

Kairi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then let it out. Her body began glowing. She took a step forward, and then turned around. The energy that had been surrounding her did not follow. Slowly, the energy began to take form. I couldn't believe my eyes.

_Is that…?_

_Yep,_ the siblings responded.

"Hello…" Kairi greeted, "…Naminé."

Aqua and I exchanged glances; both of us looked like deer in headlights.

"Hello Kairi," she said. She turned her attention to Aqua and me. "Friends of yours?"

"Introductions later," Kairi said. "Sora's hurt."

Naminé walked past me and Aqua over to Sora and Ven, casting a double look at Ven. I could tell exactly what she was thinking of: Roxas. She placed her hand above Sora's heart. "He's fighting a great darkness that has somehow entered his heart."

"Can we help him?" Kairi asked.

"I can open a portal, but it will take time," Naminé answered. Kairi nodded with approval and Naminé began concentrating on opening a portal.

"So, who is she?" Aqua asked.

"She's my Nobody."

"Nobody?"

"Beings with a strong will and spirit who refuse to fade to darkness after their heart has been taken," I answered.

"You had your heart stolen?" Aqua asked Kairi.

"Well—"

"Kairi, will you come here please?" Naminé interrupted.

"Be right there!" she said, somewhat relieved that she could avoid the question.

Aqua looked at me. "You know, don't you?" I nodded. "Will you tell me?"

"When Destiny Islands was overrun by Heartless, Kairi sealed her heart within Sora to protect it. When Sora released Kairi's heart, he became a Heartless. However, with Kairi's help, Sora was able to return to normal very quickly. However, due to Sora releasing Kairi's heart and opening his up to darkness, he formed two Nobodies: Roxas and Naminé. That is why Naminé has some power over Sora," I said. "I don't think Kairi wanted to say anything cause she partly blames herself for all the troubles Sora's been through."

"I see," Aqua stated. "So, that's how Naminé could open Sora's heart."

I nodded. "You still have more questions."

"Yeah, I do," she sighed. "Ansem told me some things, but wasn't really able to tell me much…"

"I'm surprised he survived the explosion…" I thoughtlessly mumbled.

"What?" Aqua asked. But, before I could respond Kairi waved towards us.

"It's ready!" Kairi shouted. "We can enter into Sora's heart!"


	10. Castle Oblivion,pt4: Ven!

A/N: FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER! It took some time, but now it is up! More chapters should be coming faster now that this one is done! Hope everyone enjoys! R&R!

Now, onto the story! Chapter 10: Castle Oblivion, Pt. 4: Ven!

* * *

_I hate traveling through portals…_ I said to myself. Chaos and Cosmos both laughed. _Ha ha, very funny…_

The three of us stepped out of the portal and onto an invisible floor, about fifteen feet from the station platform.

As we looked upon the platform, Kairi gasped; Aqua clinched her teeth; I just stared in awe. The platform was completely covered in a barrier of darkness.

"SORA!" Kairi shouted. She started towards the platform. "SORA!"

"Kairi, wait!" Aqua grabbed her arm. "You can't. If you touch that barrier, it won't end well."

"Then what do we do? We have to help Sora!"

"I agree, but we need to think about this for a—"

"I can warp the barrier into letting us in," I interrupted. Both girls just stared. "What?"

"How?" they asked, simultaneously.

I summoned Chaos to my left hand. "I have a Keyblade of Darkness." Both gave me blank stares. _Will this really work?_

_I'm unsure,_ Chaos replied. _Darkness, just like light, is categorized into two fields: positive and negative. The negative energy radiating out of that is extremely high. You haven't had time to fully master the balance between Darkness and Light, so I'm not really sure. The negative energy might overtake the positive energy._

_Great…_ I pointed Chaos towards the barrier. _If, for some reason, I die, I will come back and haunt your ass…_ Chaos just shrugged and chuckled.

Focusing my energy into the Keyblade, a beam of light shot out and struck the barrier. The feeling was…strange. I could see everything that was happening inside: Sora had cuts and bruises covering his body; the Shadow Vanitas was closing in on the final attack. It was now or never.

Then the negative energy began to course up the beam of light and into my Keyblade. I could feel my body going numb. There wasn't any pain, but rather a feeling of peace; if I were to give in, I could just float forever in a realm of darkness with no worries whatsoever. I began to cave, began to strain off the path. I could vaguely hear Kairi and Aqua talking to me. Whatever they were saying, however, I wasn't able to make out. I just wanted to give in, take the easy road and just be done.

That's when someone grabbed the Keyblade, placing their hand over mine. _The easy road isn't for you, my friend._ I heard a voice say. I came to and, by sheer will, forced the negative energy to leave my body and travel back to where it came from.

As it did, the barrier began to warp and a small opening was created.

I released the technique, completely out of breath.

"You did it!" Kairi shouted. "Now we—"

"RUN!" I shouted. The girls looked confused, till they noticed that the opening was closing.

Kairi ran ahead, while Aqua ran with me, making sure I would make it. Luckily, we weren't that far.

Making it through the barrier with plenty of time to spare, fell to one knee as I tried to catch my breath. I motioned for the girls to head onwards. Reluctant at first, they finally gave in.

_That was damn close…_ I stated.

_But impressive,_ Chaos said. _How did you…?_

_I don't know,_ I answered. _I just heard a voice telling me…_

…_can't remember?_ Cosmos asked. I sent her a telepathic nod. _Not surprised. It was a semi-traumatic event. _I didn't comment. _I'm gonna restore some of the energy you lost. You should feel better in a few minutes._

I said thanks, then took a deep breath and let it out. I wasn't real sure what had just happened. Truth be told, I thought it was Chaos who was talking to me. But, the more I thought about it, the more it sounded like him. Like Zane.

I shook off the feeling. "Now isn't the time," I said to myself. "I've gotta catch up with the others."

It wasn't but five seconds later that I could feel my energy returning to me. I didn't feel as good as I had, but I did feel better. I ran onwards, through what seemed like an endless blanket of darkness. From the looks of it, the barrier was extremely thick and I just penetrated the first level.

After a good five minutes of running, I stopped. "I need light," I stated. Summoning Cosmos in my hand, I could feel the negative energy surrounding me begin to disburse. "Didn't think it'd be that easy, to be honest."

_Light, when positive, can penetrate even the most negative of darkness,_ Cosmos said. _Soon, a path should show you the way._

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the darkness surrounding me began to mold and manipulate to create a path for me.

I ran down that path, keeping my sight forward. Soon I saw what every person in the movies usually seen when in a dark tunnel, the light at the end.

As I neared it, I could hear Aqua and Kairi. The voices were low, but got higher. Soon, I could make out what they were saying.

"Sora, hang in there!" Kairi was shouting.

"Damn you Vanitas!" Aqua whaled.

I pushed through to the light, summoning Chaos as I did. I charged forward towards the shadow at, what seemed like the perfect moment: the Shadow was busy with Aqua, their Keyblades clashing. My sneak attack was perfect: As Aqua had the Shadow busy, I struck at him from behind, twisting around so both blades struck from left to right, like swinging two baseball bats with each hand.

What I wasn't expecting: the damn thing's speed. Right before my attack connected, he vanished. Somehow, Kairi saw this and shot a beam of energy at Aqua to put up a shield.

I used the shield to my advantage, pushing myself backwards. Aqua and I both took defensive stances as we started scanning the area.

"Damn, he's fast," I commented.

"No…duh…" I heard Sora remark. From the sounds of it, he was close to collapsing.

Aqua and I began moving closer to him, keeping our eyes and ears open. As we neared Sora, I felt my foot hit something. Looking down, my eyes got wide: there was a large crack in the station.

_This place represents Sora's heart,_ I spoke to the twins, _so if it is destroyed…_

_Sora's heart will shatter, and the pieces will scatter,_ Cosmos said, poetically.

_Really, poetry?_ Chaos asked.

_Yes, poetry,_ Cosmos answered.

_Before you two start arguing,_ I interrupted, _do you care to help me out?_

They both became silent.

_The hell are you two doing?_ I finally asked, two minutes later.

_I'm trying to sense the Shadow's presence inside the barrier walls,_ Chaos replied.

_While I'm scanning the area within the barrier, waiting for it to make the next move,_ Cosmos finished.

_You'll be able to alert me before it strikes?_ They nodded.

I looked back at Sora, who was pretty banged up. Kairi was doing her best to heal him and keep an eye out, but, no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't able to really heal him. Whatever created those wounds couldn't be heal with simple healing magic.

_Your left!_ Cosmos and Chaos shouted. I turned and raised my Keyblade just in time to block. The force from the impact was so strong, I was pushed back about a foot or so.

The Shadow seemed stunned. From its reaction, it hadn't been expecting me to block.

"Take this!" I shouted, jabbing with Cosmos. The creature took note and sped away, using me as a something to rebound off of.

"Damn it…" I gritted my teeth. "He's so damn fast… How the hell are we supposed to keep up?"

"I don't know…" Aqua said, looking over at Kairi and Sora.

I followed her lead. _He's fading fast; any suggestions?_

_Defeat the shadow,_ Chaos said.

_No shit, Sherlock!_ Cosmos screamed.

_Guys, can we focus on what's at hand here?_ I was getting irritated. _There has to be a way to stop that thing…_

"Sora, please!" Kairi begged. Aqua and I looked over to see Sora, trying to stand, with his Keyblade in hand. "You can't—"

_Behind Kairi!_ Cosmos shouted.

"Kairi, look out!" I shouted.

"Reflect!" Aqua cast, placing a barrier around Kairi and Sora. The creature hit it full force, then bounced off, landing in front of Aqua. "You're mine!" She struck at it, but she just wasn't fast enough as her Keyblade struck the ground. The shadow, somehow, mended with the ground and fled back to the darkness.

"Damnit!" She started to strike her Keyblade against the ground.

I ran over and stopped it from colliding. "Easy, Aqua."

She looked at me, fear in her eyes. "What do we do?"

I looked down at the ground. "I don't—" Something caught my eye. "What the…?"

Aqua looked down as well. "How can this be?"

_From above!_

"Up there!" I shouted, pointing Cosmos upward. It glowed and a barrier formed around us. The Shadow landed on top and a beam of light, from where Aqua had accidently struck the ground, shot up and hit the Shadow. It screeched in pain. "What the…?"

"It's him…" Sora said, barely standing next to me. He was breathing very heavily. I released Chaos and took hold of him. "Thanks." I nodded.

"Him…?" Kairi asked. She was on the other side of Sora, making sure he could keep his balance. "You mean…"

"Ven…" Aqua whispered. I could tell she was on the verge of tears

Sora nodded. "Almost twelve years ago, Ven called out to me. He needed a place to rest, a heart he could trust. He chose me, for whatever reason. And, now, it is time I release him. Or, rather, for him to let me go." Sora took a few steps forward. With is Keyblade in hand, he pointed it downward. A beam of light shot out, hitting the crack.

Sora moved backwards as light began to pour out from the crack. Another beam of light shot out, this one piercing the dark barrier that surrounded Sora's heart. The cries of the Shadow could be heard. His power was diminishing. As the light show faded, Sora's platform began to heal; and so did Sora.

The creature was now exposed, and Sora was fully healed.

"Only one thing left to do," Sora said. He pointed his Keyblade in the direction of the Shadow. Shooting out a beam of light, Sora smiled. "We'll do this together!" As the attack struck, the creature held its own. Sora's attack wasn't strong enough.

"Wait for it…" he said, still smiling.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a beam of light from the opposite direction hit the Shadow from behind. It screeched in pain as the combine attacks ripped through the creature and connected.

An explosion of light followed, and the Shadow was no more. From a distance, someone could be seen wielding a Keyblade. We all stood there in awe. Well, all except for Sora; he just smiled.

"We'll greet you soon!" he shouted. He turned to look at us. "Ready to go?"

A bright light followed swallowed us. Before I even realized it, we were standing in the Chamber of Waking.

"Good morning, everyone," someone said, still sounding sleepy.

Turning around, we saw who was talking.

Running forward, Aqua put her arms out in front to hug someone. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. "VEN!" She cried. She grabbed him in a tight squeeze, not wanting to ever let go.

Ven smiled as he hugged her back, tears forming in his eyes as well. "Aqua..."


	11. Castle Oblivion,pt5: Goodbye, Vanitas!

FINALLY! Chapter 11 is done! This chapter has pushed me to my limits so many times... So glad it is done! I hope you all enjoy the last chapter in the Castle Oblivion saga, for the best is yet to come!

* * *

As I watched Aqua and Ven embrace, I couldn't help but smile; two long lost friends, finally meeting after several years. It was a tale as old as time…

_Earth to Beauty,_ Chaos said, _we've got a Beast to fry._

_That was mean! He'd definitely find offense to that,_ Cosmos commented.

_Did I ask your opinion?_

_No, I gave it free of charge. Next one, however, will have a fee._

And there went my happy moment, along with the silence in my head that I was enjoying. "Aqua," I walked over to her. As I got closer, I grabbed her shoulder. "Aqua, Ven can't breathe!"

She looked down to see a blue Ventus. "Ven!" She let go. "I'm so sorry!"

"That's...okay…" he said, finally getting oxygen into his lungs. "So, where are we? Where's Terra? And, who are they?"

"Castle Oblivion," I stated, "is the answer to your first question. Though, you probably know it by another name."

"Another name?" He looked over at Aqua.

"This is…was our home," She said, summoning her Keyblade.

"That's…" Ven's eyes got wide. "Master Eraqus's Keyblade… But, how?"

"Well…"

"I don't think right now it a good time to be discussing that," I interrupted. "The answer to your second question: Terra, along with Riku and the king, is in the middle of a fight they can't win without you and Sora."

"That's right!" Sora said, Kairi and him joining us. "They need our help!"

"Where are they?" Ven questioned.

"Beyond these walls," Aqua answered, "fighting Vanitas."

Ven's eyes widened, even more so than before. "How?"

"What do you mean 'how'?" I was very confused.

"I fought Vanitas, and won. My light swallowed his darkness, or so I thought."

"Then why…?" Aqua looked over at Sora.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and the negative feelings of Vanitas began to penetrate the wall.

"Let's take care of him first, then we can figure all this out, okay?" I recommended. Everyone nodded. "Now, how do we get out of here?"

Aqua smiled, pointing her Keyblade at the wall where we came in. "Leave that to me!" The Keyblade began to glow and a beam of light shot out from it, revealing a door. She was the first one to it. "Everyone ready?" We all nodded.

She opened the door, and the negative emotions and feelings from Vanitas stormed in. Everyone pushed forward, making it through the door. I was the last one. And, as I was about to pass through, I saw someone waving at me.

"Naminé?" I asked. She didn't respond. Instead she turned around, looked back one more time, smiled, and then vanished.

"Well, that was weird…"

_Now isn't the time!_ Cosmos shouted. _We've gotta go help the others!_

Deciding to push what I had just seen into the back of my mind, I continued forward.

Once back in the room, I couldn't believe the damage that had been done. Holes in the wall, floor, and ceiling were everywhere. There were a few blood stains her and there; thankfully not much, which meant no one was dead. First think I noticed was Kairi, kneeling over, what looked like, Riku healing him.

"Kairi!" Sora shouted. I looked over at him when something caught my eye: lightning. And it was heading towards Kairi.

I ran over to her, in plenty of time, and summoned Cosmos. _I need a barrier!_ The Keyblade began to glow and a barrier was placed around us. The lightening hit and I could feel the power behind it. The barrier started to crack.

Summoning Chaos, I reinforced the barrier. It was all I could do to keep it up.

When the attack finally let up, I fell to one knee, and used Chaos to help keep my balance.

_I wasn't expecting that attack to be so powerful…_ I was trying my best to regain my balance. _Is he stronger than before?_

_He feeds off negative emotions. Can you feel the ager in the room?_ Cosmos asked. I shook my head. _Sora is angered because of what Vanitas did to Riku; same goes for Aqua and Ven about Terra._

_And somehow,_ Chaos added, _Mickey is still standing._

I looked over to my left and, sure enough, the king was still on his feet. He was breathing heavily, and it was easy to see he was exhausted. As I looked closer, something glowed and caught my eye. _What is that thing the king has on his belt?_

"Xander!" someone shouted.

I turned towards the fight, my eyes wide in fear. Vanitas was standing right in front of me, Keyblade ready to strike.

"Too easy," he laughed. He slowly placed the Keyblade against the side of my neck. "Are you scared?" I clutched my Keyblades. "Not gonna answer me, huh? Whatever; your usefulness has ended. You did exactly what I wanted. Not, kiss your ass goodbye!" He pulled back and, with full force, swung his Keyblade at me.

I never closed my eyes for a moment, so when I was surrounded by light I thought my life was over. I was gladly wrong.

"You okay?" King Mickey asked.

I looked over to my left, confused. "How did you—" Mickey held out his hand. "What is that?"

"It's called the Star Shard. It gives me the power to teleport. Usually used for world transportation, but due to the negative energy it's limited to this room," he explained.

"Can we use it to—" I was interrupted by the sounds of clapping.

"Well well, that was impressive," Vanitas said. He stopped clapping and summoned his Keyblade. "Let's see if you can do it again."

"Any suggestions, your majesty?" I asked. The king didn't say anything. I glanced around, seeing everyone on the ground, slowly trying to get up. _This isn't good…_

_Merge the blades together,_ Chaos said. Before I could ask he continued. _You need power that's equal to his. With mine and Cosmos' blades merged into one, we're much more powerful, almost as powerful as him._

_Almost won't cut it,_ I brought up.

_That's why you're gonna use the king's Star Shard, _Cosmos commented. _The ability to teleport at high speeds should give you an advantage._

_Should…?_ I didn't like the way she said that.

_Have we ever steered you wrong?_ Cosmos retaliated.

It was a good point. Up until now, they've really helped me. No point in questioning them now.

"When I merge my Keyblades, hand me your Star Shard. Then go help the others," I told the king.

He looked confused at first. "But, Xander…"

"Now isn't the time for 'buts'," I rebuffed, trying to stay calm. The king nodded, though it seemed reluctant.

"Planning something, are we?" Vanitas asked. He was only 10 feet from us.

I held both my Keyblades out straight, parallel to each other. "Twin Dragons!" A bright light covered the room for a few second; the king handed me the Star Shard during those brief seconds. _Now!_

I teleported behind Vanitas, attacking from above. I saw my Keyblade come into contact with him and smiled. _You're finished! _

"Please," I heard him say from behind me. I turned, just in time to see his blade almost make contact with me before I teleported away.

"So that's what that little trinket does…" He smiled. "Too bad I'm faster."

"We'll just have to see about that," I taunted. I teleported again, appearing right in front of him; his body read surprise. I lunged forward, hoping to impale him in the stomach. However, he was able to deflect it. He reached for my neck, but a teleported away.

"That thing is really annoying…" He was definitely frustrated. "Time I turn it up a notch."

"Wait, wha—" He vanished before I could finish my sentence. He reappeared not two seconds later, right next to me. His Keyblade was, maybe, a centimeter away from my head. I blinked, and within that time span, teleported to the center of the room. I could feel something warm sliding down, right above my eye. I reached up to wiped it off.

_Blood..._ I was surprised. Even more so, I was surprised that I was I ever had any doubts that this was real, now I was truly convinced.

"Damn. I missed," he laughed. "That thing gives you some speed, for sure. Guess I'll just have to be faster."

_Faster? _I was trying not to panic. Blood was still oozing out, causing me to lose sight in my left eye. "Shit…"

He twitched; I moved backwards. He laughed. "So you are afraid of me," he smirked. "Then this will be fun."

As soon as he vanished, I did the same. _I just need to keep one step ahead of him,_ was my thought process.

I moved east, he was there. I went west, and so was he. I went southeast, he went southeast. Each time, he was able to nick me in some manner: my left arm, right leg, and right shoulder. When I went north, he stopped in the middle of the room.

"Let's end this game of cat and mouse. You've had your fun, now you're done." He placed his Keyblade to his side and then released it. He teleported, only this time it was much faster than before.

I didn't even get my head turned when I heard him say: "Boo." He hit me right in the stomach, and I could feel myself spitting up blood. My body was hurled backwards against the wall, where I slid down, sitting up against it.

"Well, that was amusing," he said. He summoned his Keyblade, and held it up for the final blow. "Goodbye." He swung downwards, with all intent to kill. Bloodlust was on his mind.

I always thought of how I'd die, and how I'd like to die, but this never crossed my mind. I didn't look away, nor close my eyes. As the blade got closer to my neck, all I could think was: _I'm not gonna die._

With only an inch to go, Vanitas stopped his attack. "What the hell?" he shouted. His right hand was caught in a beam of light, preventing movement. "Who the hell did this!"

I pushed myself to the right, making sure I was out of the way of his Keyblade, and traced the beam to its source: Mickey.

"Why you little rat!" Vanitas shouted. He, somehow, turned around and started walking towards Mickey.

When he was in the center of the room, the king shouted, "NOW!"

Several beams of light were shot at Vanitas: another beam captured his left hand, done by Sora; one per foot, done by Kairi and Terra; and two at his abdomen, done by Riku and Aqua.

"You sons of—"

"Xander, aim at his abdomen!" Aqua shouted.

I stood up and, focusing all my power while asking for help from Cosmos and Chaos, shot a beam of energy to his abdomen.

"DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!" He shouted. The negative energy surrounding him was incredible. It was all I could do to hold him.

"Ven, now's your chance!" Terra yelled.

Ven, who I hadn't even noticed before, appeared from behind Terra and ran to face Vanitas. He summoned his Keyblade and placed the end of it over Vanitas' heart. "This ends now," he calmly stated.

"You can't destroy me! I'll live on, inside of you!"

"My light will keep you at bay," Ven rebuffed. "And if my light isn't enough…"

Ven looked around the room, and then smiled. "…theirs is."

A bright beam of light began to radiate from where Ven's Keyblade was touching Vanitas. I was expecting a loud scream, but I heard nothing. All was quiet. The light began to glow brighter and brighter. It soon covered the room.

As the light shined brighter and brighter, I felt a tingling sensation in my pocket. I had placed the Star Shard in there, at some time, during all the confusion. Now, it was reacting to the light and all the positive energy.

_Link it to the Keyblade!_ I heard Cosmos and Chaos shout in unison.

I did as they said. As soon as the Star Shard linked with the Twin Dragons, it began to radiate light as well. This light, however, was different. I could feel my body being pulled somewhere. I closed my eyes, and relaxed my body. _I'm going home…_

_You still know nothing..._

_

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_And there you have it! Hope you all enjoyed! Not sure when my next update will be, but hopefully soon! R&R!


	12. Yen Sid

**A/N: And here is Chapter 12! Sorry it took me as long as it did. But, once I really got started, everything flowed very nicely. This marks the beginning of a new saga. The true story is about to begin. I'm going to be setting up four different polls. I want your opinion. The polls can be found on my forums page or look on my profile for the link! Make sure you vote! Remember, it ends on 3.07.11!**

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I don't remember ever falling asleep or passing out. I just closed my eyes and, before I knew it, I was out.

What got my attention was this sound of music; it was very soft, and reminded me of my great-grandmother's old wind-up music box. I thought I was dreaming, at first, but when the music started getting louder, I realized I wasn't.

"What is that noise…?" I mumbled, rolling around. I opened my eyes, not really able to see. As my vision cleared up, so did the room. For a moment, I thought it was the Disney Castle infirmary. But as I began to awaken more, I knew I wasn't.

The room did seem familiar, though. There were star and crescent moon shaped windows. There was antique oak furniture scattered in the room that included a wardrobe, chairs, and tables.

_I've seen this place before…_

"You're awake!" an excited and happy voice called out. I looked in opposite of the wardrobe to see the king. "How ya feeling?"

"Your majesty," I said, surprise in my voice. He walked over and sat down in a chair that was next to the bed. "Alright, I guess. How long have I been out?"

"About two days," he answered. He pointed to something past me. I turned to see Ven sleeping on a bed just like mine. Sora was the next bed past his. "Both of them have been out about as long as you have."

"Terra... That's my cookie…" Ven mumbled in his sleep. Sora mumbled something as well, but it was inaudible.

I tried not to laugh. "Really Ven? We just woke you up."

The king laughed. "Well, at least we know he isn't in a deep sleep like he was."

"This is true." I looked over to see the king's hands, nervously clinching each other. "Something wrong, King Mickey?"

The king's smile faded as he took a deep breath and sighed, putting up a serious face. "I'm afraid that Vanitas was only the beginning."

"The beginning…?" I questioned. "What are you talking about?"

But, before the king could say anything else, Riku can in the room. "Sora still asleep?" The king and I both nodded. "Figures…"

He walked over to Sora and then whispered something in his ear. Suddenly, Sora shot straight up. "Where?"

Riku started laughing. "That was too easy, Sora."

"So, there aren't any of Kairi's chocolate chip cookies?" Sora asked, sounding so sad and depressed.

"Get up already, Sora," a female voice from the doorway called. Kairi walked in, with a plate of cookies. "You lazy bum."

Sora was up and at 'em pretty quickly. "There are cookies!"

The king and I couldn't help but laugh.

_You know, I forget that he's only sixteen sometimes._

_Like you, he had to grow up pretty fast, though for different reasons,_ Cosmos said.

_Sounds like someone's been going through my memories…_

_You were out for two days, as we were bored. What else are we to do?_ Chaos rebuffed.

"Something smells good…" the now semi-sleeping Ven said.

"So, you're finally waking up?" the king questioned. He stood up and walked around to Ven's bed. "How ya feeling?"

Ven slowly sat up and looked around, taking in everything he saw. "Mickey?" The king nodded. "Mickey!" Ven jumped out of bed and hugged his old friend.

"Ven... Can't breathe..." The king winced in pain.

"Oh, sorry!" Ven apologized. The king waved his hand, dismissing it. "So, do I smell cookies?"

"You do," Kairi answered. She brought the plate over and Ven took a few.

"Thanks!" he said. "I'm starving!"

Kairi brought some over to me. "Here Xander, take some. Better now before Sora eats them all."

"Thanks, Kairi." I took two and started eating them. They were really good. "So, your majesty, what was it you were saying about—"

"Ven!" came another voice from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Terra running in. Aqua was right behind him. "Ven, you're awake!" He grabbed Ven tightly, not wanting to let go.

"Terra!" Ven exclaimed. A few tears could be seen falling from both guys. Aqua was trying not to tear up.

"Why don't we leave them alone?" The king motioned for Sora, Kairi, Riku, and me to follow him into the other room.

Riku was the last one out, and he softly shut the door.

"It seems Ventus is awake," a voice spoke. I looked in the direction to see an elderly man sitting at an oak wood desk, combing his beard down with his hands.

"He has," the king assured. He looked over at Sora, Riku, Kairi, and me and waved us over. "Sora's finally awake, as well. Xander, too."

"Good," the man said. "So, shall we begin?" The king nodded. "For the newcomer… You already know who I am, correct?"

Everyone looked at me, confused. I nodded. "You're Master Yen Sid," I stated, "the king's teacher in magic, as well as the Keyblade."

Yen Sid nodded. "That is correct. And before anyone begins asking how he already knows, or if we've already met," he noted, "all of that information shall be revealed later. Right now, we have more pressing matters at hand."

With all questions on hold, we faced Master Yen Sid.

He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Before I can explain to you what is going on, I must tell you _their_ stories."

And so Yen Sid began telling us about Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. He told us of Master Xehanort, the manipulation he caused to Terra, the terrible things he did to Ventus, how Vanitas was formed from Ven's darkness, and him taking possession of Terra's body. He also spoke of Master Eraqus, Aqua and Terra's original master, as well as Ven's adopted master.

"Aqua found Terra in Radiant Garden, possessed by Master Xehanort. After Aqua overpowered Terra-Xehanort, Terra regained control for a short period of time and was able to seal away both his and Master Xehanort's memories. Terra's body was then plunged into darkness, but was saved by Aqua when she dived inward. He was later discovered by Ansem the Wise, calling himself Xehanort. This is the Xehanort who's Heartless and Nobody you fought and defeated, Sora.

"However, with both his Heartless and Nobody gone, the original is reforming," Yen Sid said, coming to a close. "I asked Mickey to bring both you and Riku here in order to test the two of you for the Mark of Mastery. However, before we can begin the exam, there is still some training you two much complete. Both myself and Mickey, along with Master Aqua, shall train you."

"Does that mean we can also compete for the Mark?"

We all turned to see Terra, Aqua, and Ven walking in. Yen Sid nodded. "When will the exam be given?" Terra asked.

"For Sora, Riku, and Ven, we shall give the exam in about two weeks," Yen Sid answered. "However, Terra, you will be given the Mark of Mastery exam the day after tomorrow." Terra looked happily surprised.

"As for you, Kairi, you will be training under Donald, to begin with, in magic. Then you shall train from Aqua, since she is the one that accidently passed down the Keyblade to you," Yen Sid informed. "And, you Xander… You and I shall talk in private. I advise everyone to enjoy the rest of the day and get a good night's rest. Tomorrow begins the training."

"Master Yen Sid?" Ven asked, walking up. "I was wondering what—" He stopped short, when Yen Sid held up his hand and shook his head. Terra put his hand on his shoulder, and Aqua did the same on the other shoulder."

"All in dear time," Yen Sid spoke. "If you are interested, you may visit Twilight Town. The train will take you there."

Sora and Kairi seemed to perk up with that news. I smiled, realizing that they were going to go visit Hayner, Pence, and Olette. They rushed out the door, with Riku slowly following behind. He stopped in the doorway, however, as Sora reentered the room. "Well, come on!" he said to Ven, Aqua, and Terra. "We can get ice cream!" They all followed him.

Once they were out of the room, Yen Sid stood up and walked to one of the windows. I looked over at Mickey, who was looking at Master Yen Sid.

The silence continued for another two minutes. And it was definitely ackward…

_What am I suppose to do?_

_The hell should we know?_ Chaos rebuffed.

_You two are probably the reason Yen Sid wants to speak with me in the first place,_ I mumbled.

_Just relax and tell the truth,_ Cosmos advised.

_And if he asks about the two you?_ They were both silent. _Thanks for nothing…_

"They've left for Twilight Town," Yen Sid stated, walking back to his desk. He sat down again, and stared straight at me. "Mickey tells me it was you who helped in escaping Castle Oblivion."

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

Yen Sid smiled. "You do not need to be so formal around me. Please, relax." I took a deep breath, let it out, and returned my attention to Yen Sid. "Everyone inherits the Keyblade differently. I have heard many stories. However, I have never heard of one who wields two without the aid of the Drive. And, according to Mickey, you can merge your blades together. Is this correct?"

I nodded. "I can. Do you wish to see a demonstration?"

Yen Sid shook his head. "I shall take your word, along with that of my apprentice. What I am curious to know is how you wield your Keyblades the way that you do. From what Mickey has told me, you have had no training from a master. And, you are able to do things that take most Keyblade wielders years to learn and master. What is your story, Xander? What was your Awakening, your Dive to the Heart?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Well…" I wasn't sure what to say, or how to respond. "Master Yen Sid, King Mickey, what I am about to tell you, I ask that we keep it between us three." I was expecting Chaos and Cosmos to be screaming at me, but they said nothing.

So, upon agreement, I began telling them everything. I told them of my Awakening, where I woke up at, how I met Aqua, how we rescued Terra, and finally of Cosmos and Chaos. When I told them of the Keyblade Spirits, their facial expressions were definitely priceless. I didn't stop there, however. I told them about my visions and how I knew the names of others that I hadn't even met. I finished by telling them about Kingdom Hearts being a video game in my world.

"I have never heard of such before, in all my time as a wielder of the Keyblade," Yen Sid confessed. "I have heard that one can seal their memories within the chain of the keychain. But I have never heard of how the keychain is formed."

"Master Yen Sid, the Keyblade I inherited from you," Mickey brought up. "Who was the original owner?"

Yen Sid thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. I, myself, have never accessed the memories of past Keyblade wielders. Or, rather, I have never thought about it."

"There is one other thing that I've wanted to ask," I piped up. "Ansem the Wise called me a 'Balance Keeper.' What is that?"

"Did he now?" Yen Sid questioned. "I see. It does seem that you could be one."

"I was thinkin' the same thing!" Mickey added.

"But, _what_ is it?"

"A Balance Keeper is one who can use Light and Darkness in perfect symmetry," Yen Sid answered. "Ventus, according to some of the reports I've read from Master Xehanort, was thought to be one. However, when Vanitas took over Ven's body and χ-blade was formed, it was imperfect. It did not have the true power of a χ-blade. Only one who embraces both Light and Darkness, not being forced and taken over by the other, can create a true χ-blade."

"Does this mean that I…" I trailed off, looking at my hands. _Is what he said true?_ They both sent me a telepathic nod.

Yen Sid stood up and walked around the desk. "Xander, I believe that you do not need to train with us. Rather, you should meditate with your Keyblades. It seems Chaos and Cosmos hold the keys to unlocking your true potential. Besides, from what Mickey has said, you're a natural when it comes to a sword."

I couldn't help but smile at that. "Thank you, your majesty." I bowed. _I must remember to thank my parents for putting me in those kenjutsu classes._

"You're welcome!" the king exclaimed. "And, one other thing: call me Mickey."

"Okay, Mickey."

Yen Sid walked around me and stood next to Mickey. "You are already up to speed, and know the situation. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

I thought for a moment. Sure, there were questions. But, my brain was begging to hurt. "No, there isn't."

"Then why don't you go join the others, and get to know them. They are your comrades, after all," Yen Sid suggested.

"I think I'll do that," I agreed. I headed for the door and stopped when I opened it. "You coming, Mickey?"

The king shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but Master Yen Sid and I have much to do. We've gotta prepare for Terra's Mark of Mastery exam. We've also got other things to do as well."

"Okay then. Have fun." I waved. I headed down the stairs, thinking about everything that had been said. As I reached the bottom I was surprised to see Riku. "What are you doing here?"

"I told the others I'd wait for you," he replied.

"Thanks," I said. _I might as well enjoy the calm before the storm, right?_

Cosmos spoke up._ Yep! Cause starting tomorrow…_

…_We're gonna put you through hell,_ Chaos finished.

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**A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed! Don't forget to vote on my forms page. Just go to my profile for the link!**


	13. A Note from the Author

A Note from the Author:

For the next month, Kingdom Hearts: Guardian of Worlds is on hiatus. I will resume back by the middle of March.

Reminder, I've got 4 polls for you to vote which lands Sora & Ven, Riku & Terra, Kairi & Aqua, and Mickey & Xander visit. The polls can be found on my forums page, in different topics, which is linked from my profile page. (One poll is on my profile page and will change every week.)

Here are the choices in the polls for each character pairing:

-Narnia (during Prince Caspian)

-Central City (Made up world featuring Rinoa [FFVIII], Vincent [FFVII], & other Final Fantasy Characters)

-Ivalice (Final Fantasy XII)

=Andy's Room/ Sid's Room (Toy Story)

=Suggestion (Private Message or post on the forum)

If you have any suggestions on any of the worlds (or the team ups) post them on the forums page, put it in a review, or private message me. Remember, these worlds aren't just limited to Final Fantasy or Disney.

Lastly, for those of you who are interested, I'll be working on and trying (keyword: try; I am a college student, after all) to finish up my Balto & CSI: Miami fics within the next month, with a set date sometime around the end of May. My Power Ranger fic is on hiatus also, though I'm not sure for how long; I'll let you know (I'm having second thoughts on the story, so I might scrap it and start over).

So make sure you vote and give me your opinions!

keybearer007


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